September 2016

09 September

16

metro bets on community involvement to prevent unrest

Fall Fashion

Rock ThIS TOwn

This Year’s Best Bets for ArT, Music, Theater and More

Fall Culture Guide

your calendar is packed! we bring you an overstuffed season of the valley’s best art • music • theater • dance • literature and festivals

The Music of the Night

From Arabic to classical, and jazz to rock, local musicians have your number

WELCOME DR. BLAIR DUDDY TO SOUTHWEST MEDICAL

We’re proud to add Dr. Duddy’s 23 years of experience to our Pediatrics Department. His compassionate, exemplary reputation makes him one of the valley’s most sought-after physicians. His vision and leadership will continue to grow our Pediatrics team.

Your kids are precious, and so is your family’s time. See Dr. Duddy and have other crucial services, like x-rays and labs, offered in one convenient location.

To make Dr. Duddy your child’s pediatrician, call today.

smalv.com | 702.877.5199 Southwest Medical Associates is part of OptumCare, a leading health care delivery organization that is reinventing health care to help keep people healthier and feeling their best. Southwest Medical is a trademark of Southwest Medical Associates, Inc. Optum® and OptumCare™ are trademarks of Optum, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2016 Southwest Medical Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

2016 JAGUAR XJ

SOME COMMUTE BETTER THAN OTHERS The 2016 Jaguar XJ is the pinnacle of sporting luxury. Instinctive All Wheel Drive delivers uninterrupted Jaguar performance with the sporty agility of a rear-wheel drive car. New owners also receive the assurance of Jaguar EliteCare, our Best-In-Class coverage. Of course, mere words won’t do the XJ justice. To experience the XJ for yourself, visit Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas for a test drive today.

5 YEARS

60 ,000 MILES

New Vehicle Limited Warranty

Complimentary Scheduled Maintenance

24-Hour Roadside Assistance

Jaguar InControl® Remote & Protect™

B E S T I N C L A S S C O V E R A G E* Jaguar Land Rover Las Vegas

5255 West Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89146 702.579.0400 www.jlrlv.com

Jaguar Land Rover Reno

9150 S. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89511 775.332.4000 www.jlrreno.com

PRIME Steakhouse at Bellagio. Wardrobe provided by Giorgio Armani.

THE SHOPS AT VIA BELLAGIO

BOTTEGA VENETA • BREGUET • CHANEL • DIOR • FENDI • GIORGIO ARMANI GUCCI • HARRY WINSTON • LOUIS VUITTON • PRADA • TIFFANY & CO. LOBBY SHOPS

GUERLAIN • HERMÈS • OMEGA • TESORINI

•

VALENTINO

877.770.7762 702.693.7111 bellagio.com

Nothing Pairs Better with Beer and Wine Than a Cure.

Enjoy a delightful evening with good friends to benefit a great cause at the Springs Preserve. While you’re here, you’ll get a chance to sip on some amazing wines, tap into handcrafted brews, and enjoy live music and an array of mouthwatering eats made by some of Vegas’ best restaurants. Proceeds benefit Par for the Cure. So while you’re raising a glass, you’ll be raising money for breast cancer research.

Open to guests 21 and older.

SATURDAY • OCTOBER 1 • 5 TO 9PM Tickets starting at $45. For tickets and more info, visit springspreserve.org.

Another case of a Subaru going places others don’t.

The 2017 Legacy doesn’t follow. It’s a leader in safety, as a 2016 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ ®

with EyeSight. Add to that the confidence of Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive + 34 mpg* and ®

the fact that Kelley Blue book named Subaru the Best Resale Value for 2016.† You’ll find yourself feeling something very new. Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.

Subaru of Las Vegas 5385 West Sahara Avenue (702) 495-2100 Subaruoflasvegas.com Subaru, Legacy, and EyeSight are registered trademarks. *EPA-estimated hwy fuel economy for 2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i models. Actual mileage may vary. †Vehicle’s projected resale value is specific to the 2016 model year. For more information, visit Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com. Kelley Blue Book is a registered trademark of Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. **MSRP excludes destination and delivery charges, tax, title, and registration fees. Retailer sets actual price. Certain equipment may be required in specific states, which can modify your MSRP. See your retailer for details. 2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited pictured has an MSRP of $30,835.

NEED IT? WANT IT? DOES IT MATTER? 8 DEPARTMENT STORES 25 DINING CHOICES 250 STORES IN THE HEART OF VEGAS.

ALWAYS IN GOOD TASTE. ELTHERE SEGUNDO THE CAPITAL | MAGGIANO’S LITTLE ITALY | STRIPBURGER | CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN AFTER ALL, IS NOSOL SUCH| THING AS TOOGRILLE MANY BRACELETS. BESIDES, I’M IN VEGAS AND I DIDN’T COME HERE TO BE

GRIMALDI’S PIZZERIA KONA GRILL | LUKE’S LOBSTER | BENIHANA BORING. Treat yourself at Tiffany & Co., Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth| Avenue, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Michael Kors, Forever 21, Henri Bendel,

Louis Vuitton, Topshop, Swarovski, and over 250 stores and eateries. YOU DESERVE IT. Located on The Strip across from The Venetian, Wynn and TI.

NEIMAN MARCUS | SAKS FIFTH AVENUE | NORDSTROM | MACY’S | MACY’S MEN’S STORE | DILLARD’S | FOREVER 21 | TOPSHOP TOPMAN 702.369.8382 | thefashionshow.com

ZARA | DICK’S SPORTING GOODS | DAVIDOFF CIGAR BAR | LOUIS VUITTON | ANTHROPOLOGIE | MICHAEL KORS | TIFFANY & CO. COACH | APPLE | TORY BURCH | UNDER ARMOUR | MICROSOFT | THE LEGO STORE | ST. JOHN | TED BAKER | TADASHI SHOJI

On The Strip across from The Venetian, Wynn and TI. 702.369.8382 | thefashionshow.com

TICKETS FROM $49* 866.439.9272 • cirquedusoleil.com/las-vegas

AT TREASURE ISLAND

AT BELLAGIO

AT NEW YORK-NEW YORK HOTEL & CASINO

AT MGM GRAND

AT THE MIRAGE

AT MANDALAY BAY RESORT AND CASINO

LUXOR

*Price varies depending on show, date and time. Does not include tax and fees. Valid through September 30, 2016. Blackout dates apply. Valid on select seating areas and categories. Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Management reserves all rights. Subject to availability. Some restrictions apply. The offer for “O” and Michael Jackson ONE is up to 25% off tickets. Tickets for KÀ and The Beatles LOVE start at $55. Tickets for Zumanity and Criss Angel MINDFREAK LIVE! start at $49. Tickets for Mystère start at $49.50. Zumanity has been created for guests 18 years and older.

TIVOLI VILLAGE PRESENTS

AND ABOUT EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT IN SEPT

6-8PM

Get inspired each week and enjoy cocktails, bites, and the company of other amazing women.

S EPT 8 AT GY P SY 0 5

SE PT 2 2 AT RI V E R N O RT H

CLEAN SE YO UR SEN SES–

PART Y DECOR MIXOLOGY–

M i nd Body Soul sessio n with

table scapes that will wow

Davi d Barton Gy m

ho liday guests

S EPT 1 5 AT D ’A N N ATA

SE PT 2 9 AT VA SA RI

GIRL BO SS–hear words o f

SH OP WITH H EART–

wi sdom f rom an em powerme nt

do natio ns acce pted fo r

li fe coach

Shade Tre e

T ivol iVil l ageLV. com

EDiTOR’S Note

58

The art of uncertainty

O

ur annual fall culture guide is special. Not just due to its (obvs!) standard-issue specialness of serving as an indispensable treasure map to this season’s best offerings in art, music, theater, dance and more. But could I be indulged a moment of such sweet naivete as to think it might, I dunno, offer a spiritual antidote at this curious socio-emotional historic downstroke we find ourselves in, when a hyperpartisan election cycle + a troll-ocratic Internet = collective melting-skull banshee-shrieking all up in each other’s faces 24/7? I’m not proposing culture as mere escape, but as access to a different modality altogether, one we’ve perhaps forgotten in a political season that’s sent everyone scurrying for their spiky redoubts stocked with pet facts, politicized certainties, outrages, pieties: a realm that partakes instead of uncertainty, ambiguity, curiosity and even wonder. Remember how fun it is not to know the answer, and how liberating it can be not to have to have an answer? The arts are the place where those quaint traits of the demos still live, I suspect, in some trace microbial form, where open minds and those of a decidedly public spirit consider and even court perspectives other than their own. To take the magniloquence down a notch, our fall culture guide (p. 58) also features some simply amaaaaaazing art, music, theater and more — plus our annual showcase of “Ones to Watch” on the scene, featuring poet Lila Brissette, actor Darren Weller, filmmaker Brett Levner and artist Christopher Jones.

This year, we didn’t stop there. We really wanted to give our music scene a proper due. To be sure, Vegas’ neck tattoo reads “Entertainment Capital of the World,” but we’ve got much more to offer than marquee names doing the residency thing on various Strip stages. In “The beat goes on” (p. 51), we charged ourselves with capturing a snapshot of the diverNext sity of musical expression soundMOnth ing off in the valley, and, happily, Our Drink Up! issue is good to the last drop

10

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

we didn’t have to look hard or far. We discovered Arabic ensembles making beautiful polyrhythmic music and promoting tolerance; seasoned jazz legends firing up secondact reboots; funk collectives putting Vegas on the national map; and gut-bucket blues slingers grinding it out on the bar circuit. Our fall fashion feature on p. 72, too, is a visual high-five to the music scene’s teeming ecosystem of arenas, clubs and dives.

And if culture is ultimately about the care and feeding of those relationships beyond our immediate tribe — our relationships to society, the land, each other, this issue’s theme resonates beyond the feature well. In “The art of the state” (p. 36), critic Danielle Kelly considers a Reno art exhibit, eventually slated for Las Vegas, that showcases artists from both cities who examine their frequently complicated sense of Nevada. In this light, Heidi Kyser’s All Things lead story, “Bonding on the beat” (p. 19), too, expresses this theme. Amid recent national headlines of both police violence and violence against the police, it’s encouraging to be able to say that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is making meaningful strides in its own relations with the valley’s African American and Muslim communities.

As Heidi observes, building such relationships is a delicate and painstaking process fraught with uncertainty. But, given where certainty seems to have gotten us, I’ll gladly take a chance on the promise of the unknown.

Andrew Kiraly editor

Follow Desert Companion www.facebook.com/DesertCompanion www.twitter.com/DesertCompanion

Edgar Degas, At the Races in the Countryside, 1869, Oil on canvas, 36.5 x 55.9 cm, 1931 Purchase Fund, Photography Š2016 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

O p e nin g S e pt e mb e r 2 3, 2016 Tickets and information 702.6 9 3.7871 bellagio.com/bgfa

September 2016

www.desertcompanion.vegas

Vo lU m e 1 4 I s s u e 0 9

departments

51 keeping the Beat

90 The Guide Even more culture.

36

94 End note

Whatever music you get jiggy with, the Las Vegas Valley rocks it

30 Profile Bumper to bumper with trick-shot pool wizard Florian Kohler

By Jason Scavone

Features 58 Fall culture guide Now comes the season of cultural abundance, as the valley’s theater companies, music venues, dance troupes, literary programs and art spaces ramp it up. You think you can handle all this culture? You can’t handle all this culture!

28 All Things 19 community Metro

tries to cross cultural divides 22 big picture Shake-

speare in the house!

24 zeit bites Would-

72 Fall Fashion Whether you’re moshing like an animal or quietly rocking the night away, you’ll look great doing it in these smash-hit fashions

12

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

be presidents, please!

26 STYLE Sound plus

style 28 Open Topic Who

says Vegas shouldn’t be more like Los Angeles?

Pokémon Go, Vegas-style

By Andrew Kiraly & Scott Dickensheets

36 Culture A new exhibit of Nevada artists at a Reno museum shines a light on the state’s boggling array of contemporary art

By Danielle Kelly 43 Dining 44 The Dish Busting

out at Dave & Buster’s 47 Eat this now A

burger you gotta digest to believe 48 at first Bite

So-so Mexican food (but good cocktails!) in Downtown Summerlin

on the cover Pedi and Shelby, TNG Models Photography Robert John Kley

e c h o s ta i n s : a n t h o n y m a i r ; i l l u s t r at i o n : b r e n t h o l m e s ; a r t : r ac h e l s t i f f ; d av e & B u s t e r ’ s : s a b i n o r r

44

FA L L S H OWS O N S A L E N OW

Branford Marsalis Quartet with special guest Kurt Elling

An Evening with Paul Anka

Wild Kratts Live!

SEPTEMBER 14

SEPTEMBER 16

SEPTEMBER 17

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Harlem Quartet with Aldó Lopez – Gavilán

Straight No Chaser: I’ll Have Another…

20th Anniversary World Tour

OCTOBER 5

OCTOBER 14 & 15

OCTOBER 15

SEPTEMBER 20 – OCTOBER 2

OCTOBER 26

PHOTO BY AMY SCHROEDER

TICKETS STARTING $

Deepak Chopra: The Future of Wellbeing

Johnny Mathis The 60th Anniversary Concert Tour

OCTOBER 28

OCTOBER 29

19

VISIT THESMITHCENTER.COM TO SEE THE FULL LINEUP TODAY.

702.749.2000 | TTY: 800.326.6868 or dial 711 | For group inquiries call 702.749.2348 | 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89106 |

p u b l i s h e D B y n e va d a p u b l i c r a d i o

Mission Statement Desert Companion is the premier city magazine that celebrates the pursuits, passions and aspirations of Southern Nevadans. With awardwinning lifestyle journalism and design, Desert Companion does more than inform and entertain.

We spark dialogue, engage people and define the spirit of the Las Vegas Valley.

Publisher Flo Rogers corporate support manager Favian Perez Editor Andrew Kiraly Art Director Christopher Smith deputy editor Scott Dickensheets senior designer Scott Lien staff writer Heidi Kyser Graphic Designer Brent Holmes Account executives Sharon Clifton, Parker McCoy, Markus Van’t Hul sales assistant Ashley Smith NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Couture Marketing 145 E 17th Street, Suite B4 New York, NY 10003 (917) 821-4429 advertising@couturemarketing Marketing manager Lisa Kelly print traffic manager Karen Wong Subscription manager Tammy Willis Web administrator Danielle Branton ADVERTISING COPY EDITOR Carla J. Zvosec Contributing writers Chris Bitonti, Cybele, Mélanie Hope, Danielle Kelly, Corey Levitan, Christie Moeller, Jason Scavone, Greg Thilmont Contributing artists Anthony Mair, Aaron Mayes, Chris Morris, Sabin Orr, Greg Wilson, Lucky Wenzel Editorial: Andrew Kiraly, (702) 259-7856; andrew@desertcompanion.vegas Fax: (702) 258-5646 Advertising: Favian Perez (702) 259-7826; favian@desertcompanion.vegas Subscriptions: (702) 258-9895; subscriptions@desertcompanion.vegas Website: www.desertcompanion.vegas Desert Companion is published 12 times a year by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146. It is available by subscription at desertcompanion.vegas, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley. All photos, artwork and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact Tammy Willis for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

ISSN 2157-8389 (print) ISSN 2157-8397 (online)

14

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

With unique entertainment, hundreds of retailers and dozens of restaurants, everyone experiences Town Square Las Vegas differently.

Discover your Town Square today.

Earn Rewards For Dining At Your Favorite Town Square Restaurants. #mytownsquare Now available for Android and Apple devices.

mytownsquarelasvegas.com

100+ brands & boutiques | 20+ dining destinations | 18-screen AMC theatre | 9,000 sq. ft. children’s park

Board of Directors Officers cynthia alexander, ESQ. chair Snell & Wilmer Jerry Nadal vice chair Cirque du Soleil TIM WONG treasurer Arcata Associates

Our Passion, Your Space.

Florence M.E. Rogers secretary Nevada Public Radio

Directors kevin m. buckley First Real Estate Companies Dave Cabral emeritus Business Finance Corp.

Louis Castle emeritus Patrick N. Chapin, Esq. emeritus

Actual Schilling Horticulture Group landscape

Richard I. dreitzer, Esq. Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP Elizabeth FRETWELL emeritus City of Las Vegas

A

well-designed, installed, and maintained landscape is an extension of your indoor living space. Take comfort in our passion and expertise, and let us help you create your outdoor oasis.

bOB GLASER BNY Mellon don hamrick Chapman Las Vegas Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram gavin isaacs Scientific Games Jan Jones Blackhurst Caesars Entertainment Corporation

“Since our soils never freeze in Southern Nevada, we can plant in cool weather, allowing root systems time to grow and prepare for the inevitable heat. The cool season is the best time to plant!”

John R. Klai II Klai Juba Wald Architects

emeritus

todd-avery lenahan TAL Studio

—Norm Schilling President of Schilling Horticulture Group and co-host of KNPR’s Desert Bloom

Lamar Marchese president emeritus William mason Taylor International Corporation

Call to schedule a design consultation

(702) 452-5272

schillinghorticulture.com Like us on Facebook

Design | Installation | Renovation | Consultation | Maintenance Tree Care | Hardscapes | Small Jobs | Irrigation | Lighting

16

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

license 0057280

Chris Murray emeritus Avissa Corporation William J. “Bill” Noonan emeritus Boyd Gaming Corporation kathe nylen Anthony j. pearl, esq.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas MARK RICCiARDI, Esq. emeritus Fisher & Phillips, LLP Mickey Roemer emeritus Roemer Gaming

Follow Desert Companion www.facebook.com/DesertCompanion www.twitter.com/DesertCompanion

How would you use your share of a $3 million bonus dividend?

Enjoy all the rewards... like a great auto loan rate!

When you open an account at CCCU, you instantly become one of our member/owners. That means when we earn money, you earn money. This year, we shared over $3 million dollars in direct cash back payments with our 38,000 members. The more business you do with CCCU, the larger your share of the dividend.

We’ve been helping southern Nevadans, no matter what their credit history, get the cars - and loans - they want since 1951. Visit us online or any branch throughout the valley and see just how easy we make it. We’ll help you get the best possible rate on your deal. Plus, we’ll show you how to improve your credit score. We’ll even take your trade-in. As a member/owner, you deserve it.

Call us today and start earning your share.

AS LOW AS

Start banking where you’re wanted.

Open an account. Call today: (702) 228-2228, or online at OPENCCCU.com.

Not all borrowers will qualify; other rates/terms may be possible.Loans subject to DMV title/registration fees. Other rates and terms available subject to underwriting.

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.

THE 2016-2017 SEASON

SEPT. 10, 2016

FEB. 4, 2017

NOV. 5, 2016

MAR. 4&5, 2017

DEC. 3&4, 2016

APR. 1, 2017

JAN. 14, 2017

MAY 27, 2017

SINGLE TICKETS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW ON SALE Tickets available at The Smith Center Box Office at 702.749.2000 or at lvphil.org

09

16

barbec ues, b-ball and better rel ations

Community

Bonding on the beat Las Vegas is at the national forefront of police-community relations — will that help the city avoid confrontation and violence?

B y H e i d i K ys e r

i l lu s t r at i o n g r e g w i l s o n

Bard to the bone page 22

A

round five years ago, a white guy, maybe ex-military judging by his haircut and attire, showed up at the Masjid As-Sabur mosque in West Las Vegas, near Bonanza and H Street. He was carrying a box.

“He said, ‘Here, open this,’ and I refused,” says Ahmad Adé, who does community outreach for the mosque. “There were a lot of big black guys there, and he was clearly not afraid. Some of our guys were calling 311, but (the dispatchers) were taking it as a joke.”

Then Adé remembered the previous weekend’s visit by Larry Burns, then-captain of Metro’s Bolden Area Command, where the mosque is located. Burns had given Adé his card and said to call if he ever needed anything. So Adé called Burns and told him about the unnerving man with the box.

“This was a Sunday morning around 7 a.m.,” Adé recalls. “At 7:02, officers were on their way. The guy left, but the response we got after that was incredible. Metro had someone swing by every 20 minutes for

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

19

ALL Things

community

the first few hours, and then every hour or so for the next 24 hours. It was a big deal. People saw the benefit of the relationship we had with the police.”

That relationship, forged through years of behind-the-scenes work by both community leaders and law enforcement, has borne fruit both obvious and intangible.

Its roots can be traced back to the months following 9/11, when an African-American advisory committee to the police became the Metro Multicultural Advisory Committee, or MMAC. It pulled in representatives of other communities — Asian, Hispanic, LGBT — and began working with law enforcement on issues of concern.

“For instance, a discussion came up about the gang policy that had existed for 25 years,” says Mujahid Ramadan, a community leader who helped found MMAC and is still involved. “If kids are identified as gang members, they go on a list.

You need that information sometimes, but the issue was how the police collected it, what characteristics they were using to identify people, whether people even knew they were on the list.”

MMAC took its concerns to then-Sheriff Doug Gillespie. Together, they formed a group to study the policy, bringing in the district attorney and some judges, and ultimately got it changed. Ramadan remembers six weeks of heated discussions and compromise that left him exhausted.

But the work hasn’t been all unglamorous toil. It’s also community programs like Adopt a Cop, which sends recent police academy graduates in plain clothes to community centers so they can bond with people on their beats before hitting the streets.

Meanwhile, a new type of policing was taking root in Burns’ command. It’s illustrated by an experience then-Sergeant Sasha Larkin and Officer Ivan Chatman had in 2007 when they spotted a drug dealer in the west side neighborhood where he’d become a nuisance to residents.

“So we take off running after him,” Chatman says. “He goes through a mosque. We get to the mosque, and we put the brakes on. We’re like, ‘What do we do? Can we go in? I don’t know. We don’t

“With the high–profile incidents that have taken place lately, now is not the time for the police and community to be isolated.”

20

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

want to disrespect anybody.’” nationwide. Then, eight law enforcement They realized there was an important culofficers were killed by separate lone wolves tural institution on their patrol they knew in Baton Rouge and Dallas. nothing about. Larkin decided to remedy the “Last month, we got hit pretty hard,” situation. After six months of driving by and says Noble Wray, head of community-oriwaving, officers in her unit started talking ented policing at the Department of Justice. to members of the mosque (which, Chat“With the high–profile incidents that have man points out, included many ex-convicts). taken place lately, now is not the time for Adé invited the officers in for a tour; they the police and community to be isolated.” asked what they should do — take off their Wray and others hold up Las Vegas as a shoes? Cover their heads? Larkin soon took model for police reform. But with tensions reaching a boiling point around the counto showing up for Friday prayers in a hijab.

The work on various fronts came to try, can the community trust that Metro fruition in the 2012 reforms that the U.S. has built prevent us from being the next Department of Justice recommended afDallas or Milwaukee? ter Metro’s excessive use of force had the Chatman thinks so. He’s now a sergeant, local paper publishing an investigative and Larkin is his lieutenant, in Metro’s series and citizen groups threatening to community-engagement division. He’s sue. The Review-Journal found that Las the fusion liaison officer, making him Vegas police had shot at seven unarmed part of the national network set up after people, five of them black, from Septem9/11 to improve communication among ber 2009 through January 2011, killing law-enforcement agencies — all the way up to Homeland Security. In other words, one. The Justice Department’s recommended reforms included de-escalation community engagement is a counterterpolicies and cultural-sensitivity training rorism activity. and resulted in a significant decrease in “This is where we are currently,” Chatofficer-involved shootings. man says, pushing a sheet of paper across Those involved in forging the Metthe desk. It’s an invitation from Adé and a ro-community relationship also credit Black Lives Matter organizer to a meeting it for shielding Southern Nevada, so far, on July 30 at Masjid As-Sabur, the same from the violent confrontations that have mosque where Chatman stopped short wracked other cities since the 2012 death nine years ago. of Trayvon Martin in Florida.

At the meeting, which also included “When Milwaukee happened, I got a Ramadan and North Las Vegas police call from Undersheriff (Kevin) McMaand community representatives, the hill,” Ramadan says, referring to protests group brainstormed ways to fend off the that erupted after the fatal police shooting friction that other cities are experiencing. of a black man there in early August. The They came up with an event called Shoot first night’s demonstration led to a Milfor Peace, Talk for Peace, Party for Peace, waukee gas station and some cars being featuring a basketball game between NBA burned and a police officer getting hit in legends and cops. It’s set for October 1 at the head with a brick. There were protests Rancho High School. in Las Vegas, too, but like the others that “We’ll do a barbecue, have a radio host, have happened here, they were peaceful. and get as many people out as possible,” McMahill has had frequent cause to call Adé says. “We want community members Ramadan lately. Two weeks before this and cops talking to each other.” charticle/graph/secondary issue of Desert Companion went to press, photo An evening of b-ball and burgers might not seem like counterterrorism. But after an imam and his assistant were shot and killed as they left their Queens mosque after nearly a decade, the organizers believe evening prayers. July saw the killing of two they’re on the right track. men, Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minneso“It’s the intangibles,” Ramadan says. ta, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Lou“We lessen the potential. We can’t say we isiana, both with widely circulated videos know it’s never going to happen to us, but that cast doubt on the police actions and we can say we’re doing everything we can reinvigorated Black Lives Matter protests to prevent it.”

Our Primary Care is yours.

Our new Southern Highlands location is now accepting appointments.

For routine physicals, ongoing care, and occasional minor emergencies, you and your family now have a personal doctor close to home. See us for your own Primary Care Physician—a doctor who understands your entire health history and focuses on your overall wellness rather than treating you only when you’re sick.

702.383.CARE umcsn.com/Quickcare For locations of all Quick and Primary Care locations All major insurance companies accepted.

Same-day appointments available

ALL Things

big picture

state bard association

Much ado Get thee to see a rare Shakespeare First Folio. Forsooth!

U

nless Apple approves a séance app, we may never know what Shakespeare would think of Las Vegas.

But this month we will find out what Las Vegas thinks of Shakespeare. Pictured here are pages from a First Folio, an original, first-ever edition of Big Bill’s complete works, circa 1623ish. One of these is coming here. This is big. First Folios are rare as hell and incalculably important: Without it we wouldn’t have 18 of Shakespeare’s plays that hadn’t been published at the time, among them Macbeth, Henry VIII and The Tempest. (Imagine all the British thespians who’d have holes in their résumés without those parts.) The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., owns 82 of the 235 FFs known to exist and is touring them among the states this year to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s departure for “the undiscovered country.”

This will be Nevada’s only Folio, on display in the Special Collections department of UNLV’s Lied Library September 1—29, accompanied by a series of talks and events.

Don’t think being dead for 400 years has consigned Shakespeare to the past. Indeed, says UNLV English professor Evelyn Gajowski — previewing her September 14 lecture — these days we have more ways to do with the Bard what we do with any text: construct relevant meanings from it. Queer theory, feminist theory, eco-criticism, economic theories, post-colonialism — all are methods of finding meanings that are shaped by the culture of today. So, interpreting Shakespeare needn’t only be a matter of projecting backward to his time to reconstruct his intent. “These are methods of interpretation that are anchored in the history that’s shaping us,” she says.

Example: She’s observed that post-colonial and race theories “have been particularly empowering to minority students — giving them permission to speak or write from their experience when analyzing the dramatic situations of Othello or Cleopatra or Caliban or Shylock or Aaron.”

Another highlight is sure to be UNR English Department Chair Eric Rasmussen — the guy called in to authenticate a Folio unearthed last year in Paris — talking about the history of the Folios; he literally wrote the book on these books. Other topics include Shakespeare and gambling, Shakespeare and the environmental crisis, 16th-century printing techniques and more. The schedule’s up at unlv.edu, which is also where you register for a time slot to see the Folio, though on-site registration is possible if there are openings. Scott Dickensheets

22

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

23

ALL Things

zeit bites

art Pokémon go see art There’s more to the augmented-reality app Pokémon Go than scouring the city hoping to capture a Charmeleon, Bulbasaur or Mascaradactyl (okay, we made up that one, like we did the Pokéfolk on page 94). These creatures gather in public locations called Pokéstops or “gyms”— many of which are pegged to public art. Players “can expect to discover both well-known and hidden pieces of art ...,” blogger Christopher Zheng notes on the website of Americans for the Arts. ¶ Las Vegan Garrick Smillie, 26, served as a Pokémon Go beta tester. “They had me visually identify public artworks,” he says, from sculptures at UNLV to the Neon Museum. Pokémon Go is “intentionally trying to get you to go to pieces of public art,” he adds.

see/hear/do

“Playing the game, I learned there is

debated breath

a lot more here than I knew about.”

Just in time for the presidential debates, UNLV will host a lecture series about presidential debates. Care to respond?

P

residential debates: Are they a highlight of democracy — public sparring that helps us vet our leaders — or just democracy-flavored spectacles of govertainment? This year certainly seems likely to test such distinctions — if the candidates debate at all. (GOP nominee Donald Trump is reportedly iffy about it.) If they do, the final clash of titans is scheduled for October 19 at UNLV. The school will capitalize on that teachable moment with a series of public lectures, beginning September 8, which will explore the meaning(s) of POTUS exchanges.

Given the rock-’em, sock-’em tenor of this campaign, you’ll definitely want to catch the September 20 talk, “Politeness in Presidential Debates,” by Dr. Edward Hinck of Central Michigan University.

His talk isn’t based on mere impressions

24

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

of debate politesse. He’s got real data.

Hinck and two colleagues deconstructed presidential debates going back to 1960, sorting their rhetoric according to levels of aggression, recognition of the opponent’s legitimacy and so on, then analyzing it all.

One key takeaway: Hinck says the level of aggressive messaging in presidential debates has intensified since 2004, in a way probably not healthy for democracy.

“I’ll be presenting a somewhat concerning picture of American discourse,” he says.

Other topics include the positive and negative impacts of social media on debates (September 12); “Why Candidates Fear Presidential Debates” (September 27); and the big question, “Do Presidential Debates Matter?” (October 11). Full schedule at unlv.edu/2016debate/lectures.

Scott Dickensheets

¶ A few mishaps have resulted from the game — the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., had to ask gamers to stop playing in its somber memorial — and some institutions are bemused but accepting. There may be a Pokéstop at the Neon Museum, but you're only encouraged to Poké-hunt in the lobby, lest a distracted millennial bump into the signs. ¶ “I do think it has the potential to bring students to parts of campus they would usually not go to,” says Alisha Kerlin of UNLV’s Barrick Museum, which has gyms and Pokéstops nearby. “That’s great because a few might ‘discover’ the museum that in 2017 will be 50 years old.”

Scott Dickensheets

ILLUSTRATION C h r i s M o r r i s

ALL Things

style

Trendsetter

Do you remember tomorrow?

The Sound Collage mixes tech-infused a cappella tunes with retro style

By Christie Moeller

F

using a cappella vocal harmonies with high-tech vocal loops and a fetching retro look, Joshua Danger, Elly Brown, Jaclyn McSpadden and Shannon Joyel are The Sound Collage (thesoundcollage.com). But they put just as much thought into their look as they do their unique tunes.

How would you describe Sound Collage?

Joshua: It’s got a definite throwback charm to the sound and look, but it also incorporates cutting-edge tech with the looping and vocal effects being triggered. The best word I have found to describe it is “tech noir,” a term from director James Cameron. It’s a retromeets-the-future kinda thing.

Elly: It’s as though our hipster, beatboxing DJ went back in time, scooped up the Andrews Sisters, and brought us back to make the coolest modern a cappella tracks you can imagine. We sing everything from Justin Bieber to Taylor Swift to Pharrell.

But, unlike the Andrews sisters, we wear cigarette pants and crop tops.

What inspired you to start the group?

Elly: Our vocal looper/beatboxer Josh started the group. I was on a modeling job with his girlfriend Teresa, who remembered I was a singer, and she told him about me. Right place at the right time!

Josh: I’ve always been a noisemaker.

What I used to get in trouble for as a kid has now become a way to earn a living.

The Sound Collage really combines all of

26

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

my collective interests: vocal harmonies, sound production and vocal looping.

This group ties that all together.

Jaclyn: I like to think the idea for the group sprouted somewhere in the depths of his beard.

You really dress the part.

Is that a conscious group decision, or are you all just naturally stylish?

Jaclyn: It was a group decision, and one I am glad we made! For a lot of performers, there is a “switch” that gets turned on when they take the stage — an alter ego, if you will — so, why not dress it up?

Shannon: Our style evolved with our

music. We put such a fun retro/tech noir spin on our sound, we thought it would be great to dress the part as well.

Josh: I totally dig the look of the ’40s and ’50s for women. It was a sexy yet classy era for women, to reveal just enough to keep the imagination going.

Less is more, and there’s nothing sexier than a victory roll. I think it ties into that tech noir vibe. The girls are the noir, and I’m the tech.

Elly: The ladies are “vintage badass.”

Josh’s look is the most modern, since he’s the one beatboxing and delivering the technical vocal looping. He’s more of a hipster DJ.

P h oto g r a p h y lU C KY w e n z e l

Five Things they can’t live without

Designer or vintage?

Elly: Vintage all the way. When I’m not with The Sound Collage, I want to wear skirts, brooches, and hats. But I can’t get any hats over my victory rolls!

Jaclyn: I’m more of a T-shirt and jeans kind of gal, but when I dress up? Vintage.

I’ve always loved old Hollywood glamour.

Shannon: Vintage.

Josh: Can I choose Tech? I’m all about the equipment.

Jaclyn Crop tops from Forever 21 are the perfect way to tie in our look from retro to modern.

Forever 21 back self-tie crop top, $12, Forever 21 in Downtown Summerlin and Fashion Show Mall

What icon best embodies both music and fashion?

Josh: I’d have to say David Bowie. He was fearless in his choices to rock a dress or dress like a rock star. I admire that quality in an artist. What I’m saying is, I’m going to start wearing dresses.

Elly: Lady Gaga. She is fearless about making distinct choices. Personally, though, I’m more influenced by the movie musical stars of the ’40s—’60s.

When I dress up, I like to strut around like Jane Russell in figure-hugging dresses and high heels.

Jaclyn: In today’s world? Lady Gaga.

Two words: meat dress. Any time you have an artist that passes the Halloween test — you can dress up as them for Halloween and everyone immediately recognizes who you are — you have an icon.

Josh There’s only one oil for my beard, and that’s beard oil. It’s amazing what a drop of that oily goodness does for my face fur.

Jack Black Beard Oil, $24, Sephora in the Fashion Show Mall, Downtown Summerlin, Town Square, Miracle Mile Shops and The Forum Shops at Caesars

Favorite place to perform?

Joshua: Well, I will scandalously admit that all four of us have sung in my shower.

Jaclyn: Our first performance was at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel. That moment was surreal! Josh, not that yours wasn’t special, but we have sung together in several different showers.

Shannon: We sang in a beautiful museum in Barcelona. That was cool. But I’m looking forward to the Hollywood Bowl. I’m not sure when that will happen, but one of these days!

Any pre-show rituals?

Shannon

Elly: We pray together before every show. We really love each other and have great gratitude for what we do, so giving thanks is a huge part of our ritual.

Jaclyn: Prayer huddle!

Shannon: Yep, prayers and hugs.

As the midget of the group, I love wearing my Steve Madden stilts. The taller the shoe, the better!

Steve Madden black glitter heel, $99.95, Steve Madden in the Fashion Show Mall

The band Our hair needs a lot of love to form these rolls and curls. Big Sexy Spray and Play Harder are our go-to choice! We can even get travel sized for our carry-ons!

Big Sexy Spray & Play Volumizing hair spray, $17.95, and Big Sexy Spray & Play Harder Firm Volumizing Hair Spray, $17.95, ULTA locations

Elly The look wouldn’t be the same without Sephora cream lip stain in Always Red. It’s perfect for that pinup pout, and lasts all the way through two entire shows without reapplication. Obsessed!

Sephora Collection cream lip stain in Always Red, $14, Sephora in the Fashion Show Mall, Downtown Summerlin, Town Square, Miracle Mile Shops and The Forum Shops at Caesars

ALL Things

open topic

the c i t y ob se rve d

L.A. confidential In the eyes of some, Las Vegas is becoming too much like Los Angeles. That’s fine with me B y C o r e y L e v i ta n

W

hen IKEA opened a store in Las Vegas this May, it opened some old wounds with it. Locals who dislike the pervasive cultural influence of Los Angeles used the occasion as rallying cry to stop Las Vegas from being remade in its image any further than it already is.

“If you can’t find a way to enjoy this (city) without refashioning it into the place from whence you came, do us all a favor: Go home,” wrote Vegas Seven reporter Al Mancini in an editorial seriously titled “Excited About IKEA? Then You Live in the Wrong Town.” He urged readers to enjoy the only-in-Vegas virtues of the Strip and Downtown and resist the cultural dilution that comes with more L.A.-like touches.

According to this reverse elitism, Las Vegas is in dire danger of becoming the Very Inland Empire. Or, for those who don’t get the reference, I give you the sarcastic words

28

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

of novelist Steve Erickson, writing about Vegas for Los Angeles Magazine in 2005: “The Ultimate. L.A. Suburb.”

If only.

I loved the 11 years I spent in Los Angeles, and I miss the city terribly. I miss the Griffith Park Observatory, the L.A. Zoo and the Museum of Contemporary Art. I miss dogs in baby carriages, waiters with movie scripts, and vegan drivethroughs. Even though I was born in New York, L.A. always felt like home to me. It still does — and Las Vegas never has. Even after 11 years here, it still feels less like a home and more like a decision I happened to make. I suspect this is true for many Las Vegas residents.

At least I no longer have to miss IKEA. The relationship between Las Vegas and Los Angeles is a complex one, fraught with resentment — ours, mostly. It’s been going on for years, a special subset of the wider griping about “Californication” heard around the American West at least since the ’70s.

Of our 40 million annual visitors, more come from L.A. (20 percent) than any other city. And which city supplies us with more of our citizens? Duh. From 2013—2014, according to the Nevada tax board, 35 percent of the residents moving to Clark County came from Los Angeles County. No other American region came remotely close.

We need Los Angeles, and many of us resent needing it so badly. Maybe in part because we have an inferiority complex; maybe in part because some L.A. values — nanny-state taxation, nonconflict granola, a problem with AR-15 assault rifles — irritate our libertarian sensibilities; but also in large part because, well, Los Angeles acts a bit like an abusive spouse.

“Does the monorail go to your house?” my friend Dan once emailed, in all seriousness, before flying out for a visit.

To Dan and many Angelenos, Las Vegas is more a state of mind than a place. It’s a monster craps roll, a still-skinny Elvis shimmying in Technicolor, a hooker billboard truck. Vegas exists to be L.A.’s play-

ILLUSTRATION B r e n t h OLMES

I’m not sure I understand what the L.A.-haters are arguing for, anyway. Do they want Las Vegas to remain what my Los Angeles friend Dan wants it to be: a one-dimensional adult playground? ground, according to Dan, its residents the playground attendants. It doesn’t matter to him that it’s grown into a city with 2 million people who don’t all park cars and take Dan’s dinner order at the Wynn.

Needless to say, that’s not an attitude that will endear Angelenos to Las Vegans.

But I don’t blame Dan entirely. I don’t think the disrespect is entirely undeserved.

Las Vegas, still, after 111 years, has very little of the great, civilizing stuff that makes a city like Los Angeles real. Yes, it’s a world capital for musicals and concerts. But it has no legitimate, standalone art museum, zoo or planetarium. It has no real culture, either, other than gambling and a formerly blighted arts district slowly being hipsterized by a single Internet corporation.

What it does have is among the highest national rates for dropping out, incarceration and alcoholism, and the worst education and health-care systems in the nation. A 2015 WalletHub analysis based on livability, education, health and the job market ranked Las Vegas 49th of the 62 largest U.S. cities.

So why don’t I do Al Mancini a favor and go home? Because of one of the only things that really does suck about Los Angeles compared to Las Vegas: the cost of housing. Like many former Angelenos we know, my wife and I are in financial exile, trapped by a still hopelessly underwater mortgage and the reality that returning to the city where we fell in love will force us to raise our 5-year-old daughter in a one-bedroom apartment with audible gunplay outside.

(Some do leave, of course; a 2014 study showed that Las Vegas and Nevada supplied more transplants to L.A. than almost anywhere else; those people apparently have no problem with Californication.)

So, since we can’t import the beach at Santa Monica, the view from Mulholland Drive or 82-degree August days, we try to make Las Vegas livable in some of the ways Los Angeles was for us.

Every month, when they change exhibits, we tour our daughter around the

one-room art gallery at the Summerlin Library, pretending to take in the world’s most cutting-edge paradigms of color, media and material use. We take her to PetSmart so she can ogle lizards, parrots and guinea pigs in the flesh and ask us about wildlife conservation and biology. And we stare — along with the other members of the Las Vegas Astronomical Society — at the moon through the meager telescopes at the Cheyenne campus of the College of Southern Nevada, since the bright lights of the Strip ruin our view of pretty much everything else in the cosmos. It’s no Griffith Observatory, but it’s what we have.

As it turns out, life is more complicated than “if you don’t like it, go home.”

So when an inexpensive urban furniture store opens, that’s only a good thing to us. As it is when we get a big-city performing arts center, a major-league hockey franchise and an actual vegan drive-through (at press time, VegeWay was scheduled to open soon on South Jones Boulevard.)

I’m not sure I understand what L.A.-haters are arguing for, anyway. Do they want Las Vegas to remain what my friend Dan wants it to be: a one-dimensional adult playground that transforms visitors into gambling marks, high-school dropouts into cogs of the service industry and attractive young females into sex merchants? If this is going to be a big city, we will inevitably assume more characteristics of a place like L.A. I can’t wait. After all, there is no real cost to Los Angelization. It’s not like they knocked down Caesars Palace to make room for IKEA. Las Vegas isn’t any less itself because of it.

True, traffic and housing costs will probably increase, as will paid parking, but they’ll never amount to more than a fraction of L.A.’s problems with these issues.

And the progress will be worth it, at least to me and my fellow homesick former Angelenos, because instead of having to go home, we’ll finally be there.

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

29

Profile

You’re a wizard, Florian!

A trick-shot pool sorcerer, to be specific, complete with popular videos, live appearances — and a bright future cued up B y Ja s o n S c av o n e

F

lorian Kohler jams straight down on the stick near the side pocket, and the cue ball spits to the right.

It bounces off the far rail, then the end rail, then to the near rail, where it suddenly bends in a looping curve that, frankly, shouldn’t be allowed under any law of general relativity, the Geneva Convention or the Prime Directive. It spins in a lazy 120-degree arc to tap against an object ball resting at the far corner pocket, and daintily knocks it in.

I ask Kohler if he’s secretly telekinetic and just using pool as a cover. “I wish,” he says flatly over the shopworn table in

30

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

his suburban west-side home. Fine, then.

Some sort of dark sorcery it is. I don’t say that aloud. Angering people who are clearly wizards seems like a bad idea.

Kohler, 28, is a trick-shot artist, part of a singular cadre of ball-twirling magicians that exists somewhere between Paul Newman and Lance Burton. It’s classic ESPN2 fare, a winking offshoot of a declining sport, and Kohler wants to be the guy to get everyone paying attention again.

He’s already well down the road on that one. With combined YouTube and Facebook subscribers of more than 500,000, and videos that bank millions of hits each,

Kohler has become a niche sensation in a world that hasn’t seen much growth or attention in recent years. He did that by creatively tearing up the book — there literally is a trick-shot bible that governs much of competition — and by adhering to an immutable law of the YouTube age: Involving attractive ladies in your videos gets more hits than not.

“It was simple,” he said. “If you want to sell anything in the world, you need a girl.

Even when it doesn’t make sense.”

The videos use models the way a miniature golf course uses windmills, if the windmills had an evening gown and high

P h oto g r a p h y A n t h o n y M a i r

heels. In one of his more popular vids, a girl sits in the middle of the table with her feet propped on the rail, knees high.

He shoots the ball under her legs. It connects to balls hanging on the pocket, and, thanks once again to sorcery, it spins back to him at the far end. As he shoots it again, the model lays her legs flat and he jumps it over her, into the corner.

You can see that creative itch beg to get scratched as Kohler evolves. Recent videos involve fighters at Mayweather Boxing Club, including teaching Floyd Mayweather’s father and trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., a few shots. He’s working on one shot out in the desert that involves dune buggies.

But for all the bombastic tricks, Kohler isn’t a natural-born showman. He wasn’t even a natural-born pool player. He grew up near Strasbourg, France, 15 minutes across the banks of the Rhine to Germany and about an hour to Switzerland.

He got a pool table for his 18th birthday and turned to books and Internet videos to learn. Two years later, he knew all the trick shots that were out there.

He went to school to become a doctor before settling on optometry. He had a job in the field and pool on the side. He was good, though, and the online videos were taking off. He adopted the nom de pool “Venom” and began booking shows around the world. Kohler would have the kind of weekends in which he had to leave work on a Friday and fly from Paris to Boston to Miami to the U.S. Virgin Islands, then take a boat to the British Virgin Islands, do a show, then hike it back the same way to make it back to France to work on Tuesday morning.

This is not exactly a sustainable lifestyle.

So, three years ago, he took a chance.

He brushed up on his English and moved to the United States. His parents, as one may imagine, were thrilled. Kohler first moved to Riverside, California, before relocating to Las Vegas. Along the way, he went from being an Internet sensation to winning competitions in artistic pool.

The American Poolplayers Association came in with a sponsorship, and Kohler began touring extensively.

He’ll do shows for high society — a recent one involved a private performance at an SLS nightclub for a collec-

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

31

GET INSPIRED Join Tivoli Village each week in September as they host Girls Night Out and About. Enjoy an evening in the company of other amazing women featuring cocktails, bites, and events focused on your mind, body and soul.

Profile Hot Pockets These two classic trick shots are a breeze for Kohler. Can you make them?

KEY:

=Cue ball =Object ball =Cue ball travel =Object ball travel

“The Split Shot” Difficulty: Easy

THURSDAYS IN SEPTEMBER 6-8 PM SEPT 8 AT GYPSY05 CLEANSE YOUR SENSES–

Mind Body Soul session with David Barton Gym SEPT 15 AT D’ANNATA

SEPT 22 AT RIVER NORTHPARTY DECOR MIXOLOGY–

tablescapes that will wow holiday guests

GIRL BOSS–

SEPT 29 AT VASARI

hear words of wisdom from an empowerment life coach

donations accepted for Shade Tree

SHOP WITH HEART–

For more information visit TivoliVillageLV.com

MEDIA SPONSOR

32

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

The goal Shoot the cue ball into Ball 1, creating a combo to that sinks Ball 1 into Pocket C, and Ball 2 into Pocket F. The setup Ball 1 is set exactly on the the 2 x 2 diamond mark. Ball 2 is “frozen” to Ball 1 (i.e., touching, with no gap). The two balls are exactly in line with the F pocket diagonal.

Tip Just shoot straight into Ball 1, and watch the magic happen.

“The Four-in-One” Difficulty: Medium

The goal Shoot the cue ball right between Ball 2 and Ball 3, creating a combo that sinks Ball 1 into Pocket E, Ball 2 into Pocket D; Ball 3 to the head rail and then Pocket F, and Ball 4 into Pocket B. The setup Arrange the four balls in line as diagrammed, with Ball 1 touching the cut of Pocket E. All balls are “frozen” (touching).

Tip Use a “stop shot” by aiming your stick just below the center of the cue ball, using medium-hard to hard force.

Table 34 tion of bankers — and the redneckiest of bars. Anywhere there are pool players and leagues that want to drum up interest. Inevitably, when rowdy pool players want to know where the girls in his video are, he has to pick a tough guy out of the crowd and stick him in a wig as a deputized assistant. It’s where he learned the part of the game about being a showman.

“I’m really not outgoing at all, but it’s a personality you’ve got to build,” he said.

“It’s better if you are; pool is very dangerous because you learn to enjoy yourself too much. You can just spend time and get drunk with people every day at your show.”

But if he had to learn that kind of showmanship, he learned in a hurry.

Kohler was recently invited onto Dude Perfect, the popular YouTube collective of hyperkinetic hoops-and-football trick-shot bros. The appearance helped boost Kohler’s national recognition (the segment garnered more than 33 million views), and why wouldn’t it? In one trick, Kohler shot a cue ball off the table and into a putting green cup 15 feet away. Suspicions of sorcery: rekindled.

When he was starting out, shots like that wouldn’t even be considered in his sport. Artistic pool mainly used staid set shots. Kohler stays awake at night thinking up new shots and scratching out crude diagrams on scraps of paper. He keeps stepping up the intensity, difficulty and spectacle. What Kohler did was Dylan going electric for the felt-and-chalk set.

Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman is a 30-year veteran of the artistic pool scene. Where more buttoned-down players might have scoffed at the Kohler’s popularity, which started outside of the competitive circuit, Rossman saw the future of the sport.

“Florian became the original pioneer for that freestyle stuff,” Rossman said.

“I saw him as a starting young guy doing entertainment, and he had his own style. He was unique, but then I saw him like a flower starting to blossom. And I saw him evolve into this competitor.

He became established and started giving these other guys competing fits because he was a rogue. I fell in love with it. These young guys saw a guy like Florian making his mark. They attached to Florian. You’re going to see more young guys coming in, and they’re going to slowly push out some of these older guys

Featuring Chef Wes Kendricks’ contemporary American cuisine including fresh fish, wild game, duck, lamb, Certified Angus Beef, and comfort food classics. Conveniently located off the 215 and Warm Springs. Dinner Tuesday Saturday 5pm until closing (around 10pm) 600 E. Warm Springs Road Las Vegas, NV (702) 263-0034

Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different!

DISCOVERY Children’s Museum is more than a fun place to go with your family.

It’s an art studio, a science lab, an archaeology dig site, a “green” metropolitan city and a pirate ship. The museum addresses its core educational areas of science and nature, art and culture and early childhood development with 26,000 square feet of interactive hands-on exhibits. The 3-story museum is complete with nine interactive exhibition galleries providing a reliable source of information and modeling for parents and caregivers, a safe place for meaningful family time and an education partner with schools and teachers.

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

33

Profile in their 40s and 50s who are trying to maintain the status quo.”

Competition, though, isn’t at the heart of Kohler’s model. ESPN2 airs Trick Shot Magic once a year, and the APA has its own circuit, but it’s not enough to eat on.

Kohler only took home $8,000 for winning last year’s ESPN tourney.

Nor, for the record, is hustling a via-

ble option. It still happens, but it’s harder now. Pool forums regularly out hustlers. In the ’80s and ’90s, the rumor is legendary player Efren Reyes and his backers could haul in $80,00—$90,000 a week. Kohler’s seen some matches involving poker players with $150,000 stacked on the overhead light, but his own turn at hustling was short-lived.

Start Early. Start Right.

Challenger School offers uniquely fun and academic classes for preschool to eighth grade students.

Our students learn to think for themselves and to value independence.

The results are unmatched at any price!

Come see for yourself. Observe our classrooms any time—no appointment needed.

Desert Hills 410-7225 8175 West Badura Avenue

Los Prados 839-1900 5150 N. Jones Boulevard

Green Valley 990-7300 1725 East Serene Avenue

Summerlin 878-6418 9900 Isaac Newton Way

Inspiring Children to Achieve Since 1963 An independent private school offering preschool through eighth grade • ChallengerSchool.com © 2016, Challenger Schools • Challenger School admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.

34

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Kohler’s girlfriend was working at a bar where he was playing in a tournament. Some loudmouth came in talking about how he was going to take Kohler’s money and girl. He wanted to play for $500 a game, so Kohler dumped off the tourney he was in to make bank and shut up his antagonist.

“He thinks he’s a pool shark, but he’s barely average,” Kohler said. “I play him one set trying not to kill him too bad, and I win it. Then play another one, I play him one-handed, and I win it. The guy got all pissed off to the point where he pulled out a gun. His friend tried to calm him down. He gave me $25 and walked out the door. Twenty-five dollars, or you get into a fight where you might die? Since then I never did it anymore.”

That side of pool is what makes it compelling, but it’s also a big stumbling block to locking up television sponsors, which is where the big money comes in. But Kohler has another idea to bring artistic pool into the mainstream: a live, interactive show on the Strip. He’s repeatedly turned down offers from America’s Got Talent, he says, because the amount of time it takes to set up shots would drag everything down. He learned that the hard way by going on the French version of the show. To mitigate that, he pictures a comedian or magician working the crowd while he preps the pool table. Audience members could come up and make impossible shots. Maybe a few of those freewheeling poker pros can be enticed to come in and put up big money on a match.

It may sound like an unusual offering, but The Venetian took a swing at The Real Deal! in 2008, an interactive poker game show with Vinnie Favorito hosting and pros like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari playing against amateurs in the audience. So who knows?

But that’s down the road. Shows like that are hard to pull off, even with a fourwall deal. In the meantime, he’ll keep going back to those scraps of paper, practicing sometimes seven hours a day. His hands get covered in blisters, and in the dry Vegas air, he had to buy a baseball glove for his right hand. Helps keep blood off the cue.

Or at least, that’s what he says. Sounds a lot like what a secret sorcerer might say, too.

HOWARD HUGHES PARKWAY

950 YEARS OF INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

DEDICATED TO SERVING THE LAS VEGAS COMMUNITY

Financial Advisors 35+ Years

20+ Years

DEAN ABRAHAM Sr. Vice President

LANCE HORTON First Vice President – Branch Manager

PERRY BASCH Sr. Vice President BRIAN BUCKLEY Sr. Vice President ERIC JOHNSON First Vice President ARNOLD SCHWARTZ Sr. Vice President

25+ Years DANIEL ANDERSON Sr. Vice President JODIE COHEN First Vice President MANSOOR KISAT Sr. Vice President CRAIG MILLER Vice President JOHN SCHUCK Vice President MICHAEL SPEDALE Vice President PHILIP TYNAN Sr. Vice President STEPHEN WALSH First Vice President

Client Service Support Less than 10 Years ROBERT DUFFY Financial Advisor

WALTER HARROLL Vice President

GARY FRENCH Financial Advisor

GEORGE MANSKA Vice President

JASMINE GARRETT Wealth Advisor Associate

BERNARD SCHOFIELD First Vice President EMERY NYILAS First Vice President

15+ Years WENDY GILES Second Vice President FREDDIE SARNO First Vice President LYNDA SCHULTZ Financial Advisor

10+ Years ALEX OSTROVE Sr. Vice President JOSHUA PIANKO Sr. Vice President

BENJAMIN HERMAN Financial Advisor TERRY JACKSON Financial Advisor CHRIS NORTON Financial Advisor TROY PINKELMAN Financial Advisor JOSEPH PUNIO Financial Advisor

35+ Years

15+ Years

CHRIS BERNATIS Sr. Reg. Associate

GOLDIE UNDERDOWN Vice President Complex Risk Officer

DAWN BUCHAN Sr. Reg Associate JENNIFER ESPOSITO Sr. Reg. Associate MELISSA RICHARDSON Sr. Service Associate

20+ Years GINGER ANDERSON Reg. Associate DEE RAE CLARKE Client Service Associate

LYNNE OKAZAKI Business Service Manager JAMIE HOLLISTER Sr. Reg. Associate LINDSAY SHUCK Sr. Reg. Associate

Less than 10 Years ELIZABETH GREENSPAN Client Service Associate JAMES HOSKINS Reg. Associate SONIA PITTMAN Reg. Associate

10+ Years COLLEEN BELLACOSE Client Service Associate LORI CHITTENDEN Registered Associate CAROLE HARTLEY Branch Administrator

KEN TEMPLETON Financial Advisor ANDREW DUFFY Financial Advisor JAMES MATTI Wealth Advisor Associate GAIL BROWN Wealth Advisor Associate

Lance Horton

First Vice President, Branch Manager 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, 8th Floor Las Vegas, Nevada 89169 702-737-8188 www.morganstanleybranch.com/las.vegas

Culture

The art of the state A sweeping new exhibit showcases the diversity, surprising similarities and sheer abundance of art being made across Nevada B y D a n i e l l e K e l ly

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity …”

— Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

L

to Las Vegas in the spring. Info: nevadaart.org

36

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Rachel Stiff, “What’s Up Both towns are pretty fanWith the tastic. On paper it may not Sky?” sound like much of a gulf, but in reality, connecting the dots can feel tremendous. Leave it to art to bring the people together.

Tilting the Basin, the Reno-based Nevada Museum of Art’s exhibition featuring more than 30 of Nevada’s best and brightest artists, dislodges these fixed perceptions. Metaphorically, the title suggests grabbing that big beautiful bowl of a Basin, swirling it around and tilting it ever so. The Silver State’s art becomes a refreshing concoction disconnected from the qualification of place and reevaluated by the quantification of sheer volume.

What does it all mean? Difference and distance don’t mean a thing. Nevada has a great bowl-full of awesome art.

I

* * * * *

n 2014, Reno-based museum curator JoAnne Northrup and Las Vegas-based consultant Michele Quinn came together as part of the Las Vegas commit-

P H o t o C o u r t e s y o f Th e N e v a d a M u s e u m o f A r t

as Vegas/Reno, Reno/Las Vegas.

The disparity between Northern and Southern Nevada is crystallized in the state’s two biggest cities, separated geographically by the massive Great Basin. A quick association the month of July, with music, theater with Dickens’ masterwork is mighty draand art events, but it is unquestionably a matic, but the attendant plot structure is year-long mission. no less complex. Every issue, from educaLas Vegas is Aesthetic Town, and it is tion and economics to transportation and not messing around. It is “beautiful,” fast culture, crisscrosses nuanced fissures (by comparison with Reno) and abundant. traveling from Northern Nevada down to A random summer evening in Las Veits southernmost tip. The divide can seem gas can start with a high-voltage, oneinsurmountable, particularly from the night-only series of performances and art outermost edges of its identifying topoinstallations crammed inside Emergency graphical feature: the Basin.

Arts in Downtown, take a brief respite to Reno is Art Town, and it is not messenjoy the best frozen custard west of the ing around. It is beautiful, slow (by comMississippi under the neon glow of the parison to Vegas) and abundant.

Stratosphere, and end with serious booty A random summer evening in Reno shaking alongside international revelers can start with a leisurely stroll downhosted by the best DJs in the world. Did town past a buoyant metal butterfly, a I mention the neon glow? Yeah, more of brief respite to enjoy live flamenco guitar that. Much, much more. And alongside hundreds of swaynow, thanks to the Nevada ing bodies nestled on the Tilting the Museum of Art, this evening banks of the Truckee River BasiN adventure can also include Walk, and end with a massive on view at the Nevada Museum a vivid sunset visit to “Sevblock party of performances, of Art through en Magic Mountains,” Ugo food trucks and art for the October 23; the Rondinone’s temporary annual Mid-Town Art Walk. museum plans to homage to Vegas’ bright, Reno celebrates the Art Town bring the exhibit populist chimera. theme annually throughout

NEVADA BALLET THEATRE PRE SENTS

tee to bring “Seven Magic Mountains” to fruition. An interest in exhibiting work by Las Vegas artists at the museum also blossomed, through the support of Director David Walker, into the more ambitious plan of creating a snapshot of contemporary art-making in Nevada. After visiting more than 50 artists in their studios (what is surely a mere drop in the proverbial bucket of artists working throughout the state), Northrup and Quinn whittled the group down to Tilting the Basin, an exhibition that hopes to shine a light on Nevada art and artists while fostering stronger connectivity between the two regions.

So what does contemporary art look like in Nevada — at least according to Tilting?

With more than 90 pieces representing 34 artists, Nevada might be the only thing that ties the work together. It is tough to experience the exhibition without seeking out differences and similarities between the two depicted halves of the state, especially given the context of the show as “bridging” the two. It was the hot topic of conversation in and around the August 5 opening. How do the artists’ environments impact their art? How is place related to aesthetic?

Who are the artists making work for?

Are they part of a larger dialogue?

The work itself is as diverse as the people making it. And if the state boundary is the main connective tissue, then the landscape by extension sets a stage; the vast and desolate landscape of Nevada — or the sheer concept of space itself — is inescapable throughout the exhibition. But each region expresses this relationship a little differently — that’s where things get kind of fascinating. Recurrent in Tilting the Basin is a consideration of the marginal spaces where man and man-made environments intersect with the natural environment, as well as the fallout of that intersection. Northern Nevada artists in particular convey an acute sensitivity to the environment as subject, material, cohort, metaphor, victim or instigator.

There is a watchfulness, for example, to Northern Nevadan Russell Dudley’s two untitled nature photographs, a thoughtful and silent intimacy that

Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography after Marius Petipa, Staged by James Canfield

October 22 & 23, 2016 (702) 749-2000 NevadaBallet.org Dancer photo by Alicia Lee

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

37

Culture

slows the breath in its quietude.

No sudden movements suggested. Each possesses a closeness to the subject that is very considered, a vision that presupposes familiarity such that the moments caught in the photographs would go unnoticed by less familiar eyes. An untitled portrait-like image of a tree trunk is particularly salient, a scrape or gash across the trunk documenting the residue of some unnamed violence. Dudley’s sense of isolation breeds a heightened awareness of his surroundings.

No less connected to the natural environment, featured Reno artist Katie Lewis takes a different approach. Lewis traces and retraces place through repeated actions. This can manifest in works like “2067 II SE-2167 II NE,” a massive,

pinpricked compilation of simple white paper on the brink of disintegration, whose layers of tiny punctured holes mimic actual topographical features of her grandfather’s maps of Northern Nevada. Or the more conceptual documentation of “6359,8718,11284,4531,9143,” a delicately hung collection of string, each of which represents a single step taken on a given day.

Slow, methodical acts of possession and obsession weft and weave through-

out the exhibition, perhaps most unforgettably in the work of featured Northern Nevada artist Galen Brown. Brown, a standout in Tilting, is an artist whose work spans the divide between the two regions, combining threads from both in subtle ways. In Brown’s studio in a storage unit — he lives in relative obscurity — the curators discovered a treasure trove. “No” is a six-year accumulation in response to his family’s house fire, a substantial montage of paper scraps and

FREE FAMILY-FRIENDLY FUN!

getoutdoorsnevadaday.org

SOUTHERN NEVADA’S BIGGEST OUTDOOR CELEBRATION LIVE DEMO BY PRO BMX RIDER RICARDO LAGUNA LIVE MUSIC • INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES • FOOD TRUCKS • RAFFLE PRIZES

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 • 9AM - 2PM A huge Thank you to our friends at Wells Fargo sponsoring this ad.

LORENZI PARK

3343 West Washington Ave

38

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

PRESENTED BY

P H o t o s C o u r t e s y o f Th e N e va d a M u s e u m o f A r t

Katie Lewis, “2067 II SE-2167 II NE”; Chris Bauder, “Orbs”

notes that repeat the word (or concept of ) “no” over and over again. Similar in its material archive of time and process, “Sine Cere” is a mandala-shaped visual record of the artist’s commitment to a daily art practice, spanning eight years of drawings with simple no. 2 pencils.

Overall, the fanatical veracity of Brown’s work is magnetic.

Brown’s lovely and refined “Trees” captures the environmentally conscious spirit of so many Northern Nevada works, but with a hypersensitivity to surface or aesthetic typical of many of the Southern Nevada artists. Brown often works with recycled materials, and in this instance cuts discarded Christmas trees down to the trunk. The remaining pole-like or whip-like form is transformed with relative simplicity — usually just paint — into whimsical, Seussian sculptures dangling from the ceiling. Abstract, organic, confident, refined: They possess an approachable, sophisticated abstraction that speaks to the larger art market. They could be found in any gallery in a coastal art center or featured booth in an international art fair, for good or for ill.

Southern Nevada’s Rachel Stiff is equally ambitious, and her landscape paintings are also a subtle admixture of northern and southern sensibilities. Stiff conveys an almost religious deference for the natural environment, while her work plugs into a consideration of provisional spaces in and around Las Vegas, where man-made environments disassemble, often suddenly, into the landscape. Mixed-media paintings like “Behind Lone Mountain,” “No Bluff” and the striking “Whats Up With The Sky?” incorporate translucent areas of line and color with flat, slick shapes merging and converging in an elaborate process of adding and removing pigment. In attractive, cool, pastel tones, the paintings are a meditation on place that reframe Las Vegas’ often jarring transitions from buildings to desert scrub into subtle mutations of surprising grace.

Brown and Stiff are unique in their unintended ability to merge characteristics or concerns of each region, but if Tilting is to be believed, Northern and Southern Nevada couldn’t be more different stylistically.

and the

winner is ...

Fubargarita At Mundo at Mingo Kitchen and Lounge

Thanks for voting!

Recipes and how-to videos online at desertcompanion.vegas/ritalasvegas

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

39

Culture

Russell Dudley, untitled; Galen Brown, “BURNT”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there appears to be a natural alignment of each urban area to its closest art metropolises (something many artists in the exhibition pointed out, as well): Reno to San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest, and Las Vegas with Southern California. The Northern Nevada artwork is generally more ambitious conceptually, and raw in a good way — the relationship between subject, process and material is very direct. The Southern Nevada contingent has a technical refinement and a heightened conscientiousness for presentation and intention, as well as a generally more mediated aesthetic. A simplification of these ideas plays into preconceived notions about Reno and Las Vegas, but there you have it: authentic versus simulated. One could go on, but one could also make lots of artists very angry.

S

NPR One gives you customized content. npr.vegas/app

40

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

* * * * *

o, what is so contemporary about all of this contemporary art?

While Stiff’s abstract and expressive if somewhat uniform style, for example, is in dialogue with larger trends in contemporary abstraction, the entire exhibition perhaps most succinctly reflects contemporary art-making through the sheer impossibility of pinning it down. Landscape and space are not the only themes of Tilting; there is identity, technology, craft, the body, a smattering of politics and even a dash of food porn. The art world is an amorphous moving target, now more so than ever, with shifting financial and creative centers, a critical spectrum of post-this and that-ism. Ultimately, Tilting the Basin is a grab bag of styles, mediums, content and motivation.

However, if visitors to the exhibition

are curious for a taste of the most contemporary of contemporary American art, they need look no further than featured Las Vegas artist Justin Favela.

Working in everything from performance and glitter to fibers and found objects (“Floor Sombrero”), Favela’s own life is his primary source of content. The Mexican-American artist mines his cultural experience in a way that makes piñatas and fiestas accessible for the white cube, exploring identity and identity politics with reverence and humor. Yet Favela’s work appears deeply informed by both contemporary practices and art history; his work may be the most art-historically savvy of any in the exhibition (with the exception of Las Vegas’ expert illustrative quasi-history painter, Matthew Couper). Overt references to canonical or significant works

by Judd, Heizer, Suh and Rauschenberg are all present in Favela’s work. While

R u s s e l l D u d l e y C o u r t e s y o f Th e N e v a d a M u s e u m o f A r t ; G a l e n B r o w n C o u r t e s y o f Th e N e v a d a M u s e u m o f A r t / F r a nc e s M e l h o p

Get the app for your smart.

the work would benefit from a pronounced stand on depicted stereotypes, the autobiographical element keeps it keenly current.

But this exhibit is about more than contemporary art. Ultimately, if the story of Tilting the Basin is one of bridge-building, then it is perhaps most appropriate to close with Chris Bauder.

Born in Las Vegas, Bauder was educated at both UNR and UNLV; this artist is a product of the north and the south, thoroughly Battle Born. He also has really great work in the exhibition. The alluring “Untitled (pink balloon box)” sits composed and contained, a sterile glass case filled with glowing pink orbs. Although the three rows of electric breasts play on expectations of eroticism, the surgical precision of their presentation and placement is unsexy and unavailable, compartmentalized and packaged for limited consumption. What is sexy, rather, is the rosy radiance illuminating the pristine white case and surrounding wall; the sheer power of the female body, even in deconstructed form; a thoughtful use of materials and subsequent fabrication; the tease of intimacy and untouchability. It’s a marriage of the best of Nevada.

Tilting the Basin is part of a larger effort to forge a creative community between Northern and Southern Nevada. “Seven Magic Mountains” was the first step. Say what you will about “Mountains,” you don’t have to love the piece to love that it is there. What’s not to love about a gloriously self-conscious sculpture by a world-renowned artist smack-dab in a scrubby, forgotten noman’s land within view of the Las Vegas Strip? It’s kind of fabulous.

The Nevada Museum of Art is serious about creating more opportunities to experience art, and more opportunities for supporting artists, north or the south. It can’t do so alone. Partnering with Southern Nevada is essential to the long-term cultural vitality of the Silver State. Our big, beautiful bowl of art needs a bridge.

And if Tilting the Basin proves anything, it’s that Northern and Southern Nevada make each other better and pick up where the other leaves off. To borrow a phrase, they complete each other — literally, if the map is to be believed.

95

95

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

41

MUSIC , DRINKS & PRIME DINING LIVE MUSIC nightly

&

HAPPY HOUR 4pm – 7pm kitchen opens 5pm appetizers starting at $10 1/2 price martinis

RESERVATIONS TBONES 702.797.7576 • HANK’S 702.617.7075

42

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©2016 STATION CASINOS, LAS VEGAS. NV

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

The Dish 44

09

eat this now 47

16

cocktail of the month 47

Our c i ty's be st spots to eat & drink

at first bite 48

Big game: Sure, Dave & Buster's has skeeball and video games. They also have a huge Buffalo Wing Burger.

P hoto g ra p h y By Sabin Orr

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

43

Dining out

Skeeball Xanadu Dave & Buster’s recently opened in Downtown Summerlin. Your inner kid will love the games — but the food (gasp!) isn’t bad, either

By Greg Thilmont

T

hat whooshing sound you hear is thousands of Southern Nevadans rocketing to the brand new Dave & Buster’s in Downtown Summerlin. Seriously? What gives? Even in a metropolis flush with big-plate eateries, sports-blaring HD screens and countless blinking electronic distractions, this 34,000-square-foot restaurant-arcade mash-up seems to have filled an overwhelming, pent-up demand for colorfully conceived bar food and cutting-edge video games. Since opening last month, Dave & Buster’s has been thronged with entertainment-minded diners who are either fans of the chain (it’s a cult thing, really)

44

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

or who’ve seen one of the Texas-based chain’s TV ads. Yes, thronged. (Seriously, I’d recommend reservations if they offered them.)

Summerlin’s new outpost is a frenetic spectacle that deserves description — and, believe it or not, culinary consideration.

Okay, they’re not serving up hipsterized snout-to-tail gastropub cuisine, but, hey, if you’re going to spend an evening drinking beer and wasting bad guys in Time Crisis 5, judging from a recent trawl through the menu, the caloric fuel on offer is a few cuts above your average sports-bar basket of chicken wings and mozzarella sticks.

I’m thinking of items such as the outra-

geous Caveman Combo — an appetizer, believe it or not. It’s a tin bucket filled with a quartet of barbecued pork ribs and a matching number of mini-cheeseburgers on skewers (plus fries). Also in the vertical mode is the aptly named Mountain o’ Nachos, which are of the traditional ground beef-meetsmelted queso variety, with the addition of black beans, jalapeños, diced tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole. Nothing avant-garde, but the platter will satisfy four.

Other finger foods include the Three-Cheese Grilled Cheese Sticks. It’s basically a gigantic grilled cheese sandwich on overdrive. (Not only does it feature melted manchego, cheddar and mozzarella inside toasted sourdough

P h oto g r a p h y S a b i n O r r

Play with your food: Top left, pretzel dogs appetizer; below, pepperoni pretzel pull-apart

bread, there’s an extra layer of cheese on top.) If you’re looking for soup, there’s a pair on tap: Southwestern-style tortilla and tomato-feta. Fitting for an eatery that started in Dallas, Angus Steak Chili is on the menu, too. It’s tomato-rich and strewn with beans, green peppers and green chilies. Though not especially spicy, it’s fresh-tasting and closer to salsa than your typical canned con carne glop.

For the burger list, the vertical theme continues, such as the layered Buffalo Wing Burger. Not content with just a half-pound beef patty, it also contains a substantial spicy chicken tender and a layer of crispy onion strings. With the addition of bleu cheese spread and chunks of celery, it’s a zesty fork-andknife job. In a similar style is the Short Rib & Cheesy Mack Stack. If you’re not content with butter-toasted sourdough planks crammed with sliced beef and bourbon-glazed onions, this construction is also loaded up with macaroni and cheese — because, really, who doesn’t want pasta inside their sandwich these days? It might seem that greens are an afterthought in the establishment. You wouldn’t be completely wrong: Most of the salads are also platforms for meats, such as slices of steak over romaine and

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

45

Dining out Dave & Buster’s 2130 Park Centre spinach. (If you need to keep it frenzy that is Dave & BustDrive #100 truly light, go for the steamed er’s Summerlin. This would 702-984-4800 be the immense game room, edamame appetizer.)

The beverage menu is exor what the company calls HOURS tensive, and inhabits a colorthe Million Dollar Midway.

Sun-Thu, 10a-12a ful realm somewhere between It’s filled with a panoply of Fri-Sat, 10a-2a high-concept craft mixology games, from uber high tech like you can find on the Strip and immersive experiences or Downtown, and a lowlike the ping-pong-flinging down, Sex on the Beach-slinging local’s Ghostbusters Arcade and the blaster-taslounge: They’ve got a three-rum mai tai, tic Star Wars Battle Pod to classics like and 10 varieties of margaritas. Beyond a Pac-Man (on a big screen, natch) and air host of mojitos, sangrias and Long Island hockey. There’s even a very Viva Las Vegas ice teas, there are even boozy, Day-Glo block of old-fashioned coin-pushers feasnow cones. Keep in mind, though, this is turing Elvis.

It’s interesting to ponder just why a corporate chain, so expect to stay in the mainstream of liquor labels — Absolut, Dave & Buster’s is going gangbusters in Bacardi, DeKuyper and the like — rather Summerlin. After all, there was already than rare, handcrafted spirits. plenty of arcade action in greater Vegas, Of course, all this is a prelude to the from Town Square and Circus Circus to Red Rock Resort. (And let’s not forget larger portion of the buzzing, flickering

on’t be late...

For This Very Important Date!

Saturday, October 1, 2016 Spread the Word Nevada’s

15

Annual

Storybook Gala

For Ticket Information please call (702) 564-7809 or visit www.spreadthewordnevada.org

Festivities begin at 5:3OPM | MGM Conference Center All Proceeds Benefit At-Risk Children in Southern Nevada

Sponsored By

Thank you to our friends at Wells Fargo for the donation of this ad.

46

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

the Pinball Hall of Fame.) Maybe it’s the fact that it took so long for D&B’s to finally open here. Perhaps it’s that there’s external validation that our suburbs are up to par with Los Angeles or Phoenix.

It’s surely the fact that, despite living in Casino Central U.S.A., many Southern Nevadans prefer Pokémon over Pai Gow when it comes to gaming. Also, we’ve become a bona fide family town, and the kids must be amused. But it definitely has something to do with the fact that today’s average adult has been raised around video games since Pong came on the scene. Whatever the reason, the promenades of Downtown Summerlin are filled with more foot traffic than before as gamers heed the siren’s call of hyperbolic bar food paired with a cutting-edge shooting gallery for kids and adults alike. The game is on.

HOT PLATE

Eat this now!

GET VIP ACCESS

Subscribe today to Desert Companion.

Not only will you get a year’s worth of our award-winning city magazine delivered to your door. But you’ll also be supporting quality journalism, fine writing and great design.

The Freiburger At Dog Haus Las Vegas

4480 Paradise Road, doghaus.com

T h e F r e i b u r g e r co u rt e sy o f D o g H au s ; T h e G i n g e r : C h r i sto p h e r S m i t h

I’ll have a hamburger, please. Do I want cheese? Sure. White American cheese?

Yeah, fine, sounds good. To drink, I’ll — what’s that? Do I want a fried egg on my cheeseburger? Well, that’s a little, you know, over the top, but okay, I’ll bite. (Heh heh.) Do I want coleslaw on my fried-egg cheeseburger? Eh, I don’t think ... and what’s that? Fries — actually on the burger?! *Something clicks audibly in brain* Yes, okay, yes! And gimme that damn slaw, too! I want it all! *It arrives* MY GOD, LOOK AT THIS MUTANT ENORMITY! So, what do you call this big, beautiful, unholy monster? The Frieburger? Nice. Do I want a fork and knife? Yes, I do.

This burger freakshow peaks just this side of the pleasure-pain divide; it’s an epic grind for the not-faint-of-heart. Like this guy —> Scott Dickensheets

Cocktail of the month

The Ginger at Hank’s Fine Steaks & martinis

It’s fall, that season of crackly, tumbling leaves, spiced cider, decorative gourds, toe socks, glum intimations of mortality and all that other fun fall stuff we never get to experience as citizens of the Desert Perpetual. Our decidedly Vegas consolation: seasonal cocktails. Boasting one of the valley’s most extensive martini menus, Hank’s literally has a drink for every season, and I found in The Ginger a worthy fall drinker that evokes autumnal coziness in adult fashion — think potpourri you can drink. The Stirrings Ginger Liqueur gives it a livening, tangy kick, but the fruity complement of Absolut Pear, St. Germain Liqueur and pineapple and lemon juices lend it a comforting drinkability.

Crackly leaves are overrated anyway. Andrew Kiraly

Get a 1-year (12 issues) subscription for just $24

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! www.desertcompanion.vegas

JOIN US FOR

HAPPY HOUR PLATES & POURS STARTING AT $3.95 MONDAY-FRIDAY 3:30 PM - 6:30 PM

In Green Valley Ranch, 702-617-7075

Summerlin® | 702.433.1233 | BrioItalian.com September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

47

Dining out

Chile effect Casa del Matador brings burritos and top-shelf booze to Downtown Summerlin — but can it break the cycle of fajita fatigue? B y D e bb i e L e e

F

with backgrounds in construction and ajita fatigue is real, particularly if you live in Summerlin. Over the past design. The burgeoning brand boasts 10 few years, the neighborhood has locations, most of which are located in the seen an endless parade of mid-sized Pacific Northwest. Perhaps having roots Mexican(ish) restaurant openings: so far from the border could explain why Dos Caminos, Cantina Laredo, Mercadito, the interior design — a stylish mix of colLibre, Hussong’s Cantina, Pancho’s. One orful tile, antique lighting, and hand-built might dub this section of the city the corn tabletops (made by Melang) — often outchip belt. (Donald Trump would not apshines the food. prove.) Survival rates are a coin flip, but There were certainly some highlights during a recent visit. Of the five street that hasn’t stopped Casa del Matador, a tacos we sampled, the pork new modern Mexican conCasa del cept, from setting up shop in carnitas stood out for its M atad or Downtown Summerlin. pleasant citrus notes. A Downtown Like its neighbors Shake grilled pork al pastor taco, Summerlin Shack and Blue Ribbon Fried flavored with a hint of pine702-228-2766 Chicken, the restaurant is apple, was also a notch above matadorrestaur your standard street fare. contemporary mini-chain. ants.com It’s owned by Opper Melang, But other dishes lacked the HOURS a Seattle boutique restaurant complex and soulful qualiMon-Thu 11a-12a group founded by Nathan Opties I expect from this cuiFri 11a-2a per and Zak Melang, a duo sine. Take the guacamole.

Sat 10a-2a Sun 10a-12a

48

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Bull market: From left, Casa del Matador's enchiladas poblanos, al pastor street tacos, and jalapeño margarita

Casa del Matador spared us the circus act of making tableside dip — a feature often found at other modern Mexican restaurants. But our tiny bowl of green mush was short on spice and acid.

The rest of the meal hovered just above forgettable. Crumbled chorizo on a single small corn tortilla struck me as the kind of lazy breakfast a hungover bachelor could cook while still half-asleep.

Jalapeño poppers wrapped in crispy bacon were advertised as being stuffed with goat cheese, but there was no hint of creamy grassiness in the filling. And an entrée of chicken enchiladas poblanos (“rich and mild with fire-roasted chiles”) was short on flavor and completely dry on the inside. It was especially disappointing given the vivid descriptions for each of the four sauces available. An optimistic dining companion commented that at least a side of black beans was properly prepared. (Unfortunately, I’m partial to creamier refried pintos.)

The restaurant’s saving grace is its beverage program. There are 128 tequilas and 23 mezcals at every price point stocked at

P h oto g r a p h y S a b i n O r r

MYSTERY SOLVED

Yes, there absolutely is an afterlife.

In a previous life, they were the world’s brightest lights ablaze above the world’s most dazzling city.

Now, they lie unplugged, fading in the boneyard.

And, boy, do they have stories to tell.

Book your tour and take a walk through history.

Literally.

the bar. Guests can knock back $5 shots or sample top-shelf selections in the form of customized flights. Cocktails are also a far cry from the syrupy, neon, frozen drinks one might find at other Mexican mega-restaurants. A cucumber jalapeño margarita on the rocks, served with a chile-spiked salt rim, was refreshing and easy to sip on a hot summer night.

It’s also worth nothing that, while the food isn’t exactly authentic, the service was friendly and the prices were fair. The beautiful space suggested haute Mexican fare at an offensive mark-up, but a large dinner for two with drinks was $50. Happy hour and brunch service promises to be good for the business.

Unless there’s a fundamental change in the food, Casa del Matador is unlikely to win over any Mexican culinary connoisseurs. The good news is that it can rely on its good looks and prime location to maintain an edge over the nearby competition. It’s Mexican Lite, which is a fine fit for this particular shopping center — a place where the clientele seems willing to pay a premium for simple things in pretty packages.

BOOK A TOUR

NeonMuseum.org

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

49

Yo u Wa n t t o S e e T h i s . . .

Chamber Music Series Opening Concert September 29 • 7:30 p.m

Ana Vidovic, Guitar October 15 • 8 p.m.

Mozart Orchestra of New York

Boston Brass

November 1 • 7:30 p.m.

Hiromi: The Trio Project November 12 • 8 p.m.

Home Free: A Country Christmas December 4 • 3 p.m.

October 22 • 8 p.m.

pac.unlv.edu • (702) 895-ARTS (2787)

2016 – 2017 season

9:16

-9:16

The beat goes on

A celebration of the diverse musicians who rock this town Photography by Anthony Mair

Sure, Las Vegas is the Entertainment Capital of the World, but those marquee names blazing on the Strip shouldn’t get all the credit. Because on any given weekend, musicians like those in the following pages are playing their hearts out — in dive bars and concert halls, in rock clubs and community centers well away from the Sin City lights.

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

51

Jazz

The Ronnie Foster Trio It’s never too late for a reboot — musically or otherwise

L

as Vegas has blessed innumerable star entertainers with afterburner careers — the Celines and Britneys, Mariahs and Rods, Eltons and Waynes. Just as importantly, it’s also provided bread-and-butter gigs that have allowed lesser-known but still legendary musicians to thrive creatively in the desert — musicians like those in The Ronnie Foster Trio. Jazz organist Ronnie Foster, guitarist Jake Langley and drummer Jess Gopen all have or have had regular Strip gigs to pay the bills.

But, far from the Strip glare, this Saturday afternoon show at the Winchester Cultural Center is where their hearts are, as The Ronnie Foster Trio leaps and feints through a set of vigorous organ jazz. Gopen holds it together, with smart, crisp, judicious fills; Langley stands deceptively still as he weaves nimble lines.

On organ, though, Ronnie Foster is getting a workout — (Let me stop here and confess, what, a prejudice (?) in thinking of Hammond organs, for all the geniality and warmth of their sound, for that inviting, cushy-

Electronic

Echo Stains These introspective synth-rockers play the saddest music you’ll ever dance to

52

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

I

t’s been, what, 26 years since the 1980s? That’s longer than any of the members of the electro-pop group Echo Stains have been alive.

Yet the era’s trademark sound — feathery, layered synths, choppy guitars, spare drums, heart-laid-bare lyrics — reverberates throughout Echo Stains’ impressive EP, Colors of Emotion.

“We want our music to be like going to a sad dance party,” says the band’s drummer and beatmaker Ron Guillermo as we browse vintage vinyl at Downtown’s 11th Street Records. Think The Cure, New Order, My Bloody Valentine. (Proving his faith, Guillermo points to a wall display of rare records and says he recently spent nearly $100 on an original pressing of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream.)

And to think the band started as a hip-hop act. “We were all into Odd Future, Kendrick (Lamar), A$AP Rocky, and wanted to stem off that,” he says. In 2012, their focus shifted to synth-driven pop, with members trading tracks and lyrics via email before attempting to perform live. “Marvin (Cantorna) had never played bass before,” Guillermo says. “He learned by playing our songs.”

They’re fast learners, apparently. Colors of Emotion sounds like the work of a seasoned (and, yes, sad) band, seven tracks of moodily soaring synths and Prozac-daydream vocals, perfect for dancing-while-crying alone. If bands such as The Killers, Imagine Dragons and Panic! At The Disco brought mope-rock to the stadium, Echo Stains is their criminally shy cousin — the weird kid, the lovable underdog that may nevertheless prove to be another breakout.

“We obviously stick out a lot when we play shows,” Guillermo says. “It was scary at first, but it’s been cool.” Chris Bitonti

sofa, safely swingin’, retro Instagram-filter and, yes, even churchy tone, as, well, passive, perhaps even sedentary, instruments. I state here publicly that I stand corrected.)

— because it’s less like Foster is merely playing his heart out on his Hammond A100 than he is athletically but methodically working the inscrutable console of a wildly complicated musical spaceship, deploying riffs and solos, marshaling melodic themes, then tossing them to Langley and Gopen for reaction, comment and elaboration.

Foster made his name in the ’70s as a respected acid-jazz artist and Hammond god, but it’s clear on this day in 2016 that he’s in anything but afterburner mode.

(At 66, he vibrates with a coiled-spring energy. He plays basketball almost every day, never smoked, never got high, never really drank. “My first gig was when I was 14. The guys I was playing with were old enough to be my dad. Between sets they took me in the kitchen, leaned me against the stove and said, ‘If we ever see you smoking or drinking, we’re gonna kick your ass.’”)

The Ronnie Foster Trio just recorded a live album at Cabaret Jazz in The Smith Center called, fittingly, The Reboot Project Live.

“Reboot Project is exactly what it means,” he says.

“I’m rebooting and this, the organ trio, is my roots.

This is where I started. This is my foundation, my first love.” Here’s to the beautiful sound of new beginnings in the city of second chances. (Monterey Jazz Festival, Sept. 18; Baked Potato, Los Angeles, Sept. 24) Andrew Kiraly

Funk, soul, hip-hop

The LiQue A stellar funk fusion outfit born the Vegas way — by chance

P h o t o C o u r t es y o f t h e L i q u e

I

t’s an all-too-typical story for performers in Las Vegas: Artist moves to town to be a part of a flashy Strip show — in this case, Vegas Nocturne at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. Show closes unexpectedly, leaving the artist without roots or prospects in a strange city.

Artist sets sights on the seemingly greener pastures of New York or L.A. “I was kind of done with Vegas, I didn’t see a need to stay here — nothing with my solo career was really working,” says Rasar, emcee and frontman for The Lique. “The band was starting with or without me, and I wasn’t looking for a band. But we met up at UNLV and from the very beginning, it felt like we had been working together for years.”

That chance connection led to the birth of what’s perhaps Vegas’ next big export: a musical collective that blends conscious hip-hop, soul and jazz. With his slick rhymes and outsized persona, Rasar (who unironically slings phrases like “I can dig it” and “heavy cats”) is the ingredient that takes The Lique from being a merely great throwback soul-jam band to a stellar funk fusion outfit. (Check out their rousing, propulsive “Batman” for a taste of their orchestral power.) Their fast rise has already included a Strip residency, a tour capped with a New York performance alongside spiritual counterparts Con Brio, the release of their first album, and scoring a national feature in Afropunk.

After their upcoming performance at Life Is Beautiful, The Lique will be scarce on the local scene — but only because they have their sights set on bigger horizons. “We’re trying to be road dogs,” says Rasar. “I want my friends to say, ‘Man, I haven’t seen those guys in like six months!’” (Sept. 24, Life is Beautiful) Chris Bitonti

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

53

Arabic

Arab Music Ensemble They hail from different countries, but speak one language: music

T

hree men and two women form a cramped semicircle facing a desk in the back office of Bishr Hijazi’s hand and microvascular surgery practice. It’s after-hours, so most neighboring tenants are gone. If any are around, the exotic sounds wafting through the halls wouldn’t surprise them.

It’s not the first time his seven-year-old Arab Music Ensemble has rehearsed here.

The group includes Kuwaiti-born Hijazi; Lebanese brothers Charbel and Charles Azzi, a computer engineer and businessman, respectively; Laraine Kaizer-Viazvotsev, the only American; and Zhanna (yes, just Zhanna), a nursing student from Kazakhstan. They all have other, full-time occupations, so coordinating times for rehearsals and performances is tough. But it’s worth it, they say. Why?

54

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Charbel Azzi (percussion instruments riq, dumbek and tar): First, I get to play this style of music. Second, we all have our own instruments. These days, when you play in clubs, there’s a keyboard and drum machines and beat machines. So, you’re playing on top of percussion that already exists, and you’re restricted by that. And third is the challenge. In a lot of new music, there’s one rhythm from the beginning of the song to the end, right? This music changes. The beats and rhythms are complex.

Zhanna (dancer): Yes, the music is so rich, so deep. It has many different layers. The original pieces have up to 25 different instruments, and each instrument calls for a different type of movement. String instruments create the melody, so they call for moving in a soft, gooey way, like undulations.

And then, percussive instruments call for sharp hip movements or shimmies. … So, you can, for example, focus on one instrument and express what it’s saying. Or, you can acknowledge all the instruments at once. There’s so much emotion in it.

Charles Azzi (riq, dumbek and tar): I think you get to live — not just your childhood, but your home. Because we

feel away from home, and I think this music kind of reconnects us.

Hijazi (buzuq, guitar, nay and oud): There’s a huge cultural part of it. Usually, when we’re dealing with Arabic culture, especially these days, there’s a lot of stigma attached. And, I mean, we’re not going to be talking about politics, but there’s a lot of richness to this culture, and it’s not given its fair share of coverage. You only hear about the negative stuff and the horrible events that happen. And there’s a lot of beauty that’s completely ignored. As musicians, we feel and live this beauty every time we play it. This is our way of saying, “That is not who we are.” Who we are is people who like to spread beauty as much as we can.

Kaizer-Viazvotsev (violin): For me, it’s like learning another language, musically, which is a great challenge. I just really fell in love with the combination of raw emotion and beauty. In some other traditional music — for example, Indian music — it’s almost overwhelming, the number of ornaments. It’s so unbelievably complex. This is also complex, but it’s matched by simplicity and elegance. Heidi Kyser

Blues

The Moanin’ Blacksnakes One of the valley’s longest-playing blues bands continues to keep it real

A

ugust 5, 9:35 p.m. Led by guitarist and singer Scott Rhiner — doing his dashing-rogue thing in blazer, jeans and boots — The Moanin’ Blacksnakes are powering through Jimmy Thackery’s “Cool Guitars” (“I’m gonna sell the bitch’s car/ And buy myself a cool guitar”) at the Barefoot Bar & Grill near Sunset Park. If The Moanin’ Blacksnakes seem to be playing with a certain seasoned looseness, a certain, shall we say, lubricated élan, sure, that may be the whiskey flowing through their veins — or it may be because they’ve been serving up raucous blues-rock in the valley for 20 years. See what I mean: Here’s Rhiner now on a solo, wringing his ’63 Stratocaster like a rag — offhand and casual, sure, but, oh, how cutting and sweet the notes sound.

See what I mean again: It tractor-beams two women to the dance floor to start prancing and shuffling.

10:07 p.m. Between sets, Rhiner commandeers a barstool, whiskey in hand, to catch up on what is no doubt an exciting, fulfilling 20-year career playing the blues scene in Las Vegas. Right?

“We’re kinda like furniture,” he says, unleashing the hearty, sniggering laugh that’s become his signature. “It’s like sitting in your favorite chair. We’re ingrained. And the band — we’ve been playing together so long, it’s like family.” Now 52, Rhiner once had designs on being a professional musician, but also wanted to, you know, feed his wife and two kids. “When I stopped trying to play every night and was turning down gigs, all of a sudden I started getting offered way more money. I’m like, why didn’t this happen 10 years ago?” That hearty laugh again. Today, Rhiner works as a communications technician for the Water District.

12:18 a.m. But it wouldn’t be fair to call these guys mere weekend warriors. More like Clark Kents whose transformative phone booth is the blues: Now Rhiner’s ripping through a slide guitar solo with a frothing bottle of Bud (“Kinda reminds me of last night,” he quips), and keyboardist Mike Hepner has busted out, seemingly from nowhere, a keytar, and the dance floor is awhirl with pairings, intrigues and come-ons. Rhiner surveys it all with a look of satisfaction. “Don’t you just love live music?” he says. “It ain’t always pretty, but it’s always real.” (Sept. 9, Barefoot Bar & Grill; Oct. 15, Sand Dollar Lounge) Andrew Kiraly

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

55

Ce l l i s t

moonlight Tran Art is long, life is short

A

friend of the family said, “Go to Las Vegas. There’s free coffee and buffets, and you’ll never be hungry.”

Picture a 13-year-old Vietnamese girl with her parents and three siblings entering the U.S. after the war in 1975, political refugees. An immigration agent asks the girl’s

name. Anh Nguyet, the mother replies. Too complicated; what does it mean? Light of the moon. Oh, Moonlight? OK, we’ll put that on her papers: Moonlight Tran.

I came back to Las Vegas after my bachelor’s in music at USC, but I didn’t work as a musician right away. It’s very hard to break into this business.

When Moonlight smiles, her eyes light up mischievously. But she’s not smiling this day. She’s in her 30s, emptying out her garage, and the garage door has slammed down on her cello, crushing the case and damaging the instrument. It’s the cello that got her through college, her first gig backing up Joan Rivers at Caesars, where she works

days as a clerk to support herself. Moonlight has saved enough money to try doing music full-time. She’s got an audition at the Las Vegas Philharmonic that will land her second chair. She needs a new cello.

We’re like gypsies. The work comes in strange forms, and we take it wherever it is.

Here is Moonlight Tran in her 50s, still with the Philharmonic, living the dream of supporting herself through music. Life is a carousel of gigs: two years of Lion King, Smith Center shows, conventions. And on the side, the constant pursuit of artistic growth. She joins an all-women’s trio, Zirna, which gives talks about and performs music by female composers. She helps form a Chinese music ensemble including the same classical instruments her grandfather had played in Vietnam. She takes an interest in tango, going so far as to produce a fundraiser at Winchester Cultural Center with professional dancers from California.

Red, red, a bleeding rose, but with no pain, powerful, masculine, sensual …

This is how Moonlight says tango music feels. You can see her swaying to the rhythm, lost in a memory, as she plays her cello with the group Firenze. The French took tango to Vietnam, and it became part of the culture there. Moonlight thinks of her father and mother dancing. They are young and happy, and she is still a child. So much music still to come. Heidi Kyser

56

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Hip-Hop

Hassan The “fat, black and awesome” rapper and MC — in his own words

N

ow here’s a little introduction to the topic of discussion/ Hailing from Downtown rocking stages like it’s nothing/ Fat, black and awesome Mr. Hassan Hamilton/ Honored to be featured inside the Desert Companion/ Originally from Southern California born and raised/ Family was full of music-lovers whose radio played/ Anything from Earth Wind and Fire to Grateful Dead/ But thanks to my brother Rob my body moved instead/ To the sounds of a new style of music called Hip-Hop/ I loved how the rappers rhymed whenever the beat dropped/ The DJing, breaking and graffiti was also dope/ Groups like Run DMC would become my Hall & Oates/ BDP, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim/ LL and albums like Straight Outta Compton/ Sparked my interest in writing lyrics and rocking mics too/ Idolized A Tribe Called Quest, Nas and Ice Cube When I began 2 write I sounded exactly like these cats/ But couldn’t relate to consciousness or gangsta rap/ I was a weirdo who got bullied for being fat/ The type of guy the pretty boys and ladies were laughing at/ Couldn’t fit in no matter how much I tried 2 pretend/ So I took my frustrations out on my pad and pen/ And started writing with witty humor and brutal honesty/ People heard me freestyle and said

it was promising/ Felt elated being celebrated I was dedicated/ Summer of 2005 took my talents to Vegas/ In the midst of all the casinos and the Strip/ I discovered Downtown where the local scene was hip/ And spots like Money Plays, Cooler Lounge, Cloth & Canvas/ At open mics around town my seeds were planted/ Hooked up with Macro-Fi, Brain Jelly, Rap Is Fun/ Made a few albums also collaborated with a bunch/ Of other artists and bands most notably Phil A/ Our album “Rap Songs” is a Vegas classic to this day/ Well enough from me, hope you enjoyed my story and its details/ It’s time 2 disappear like a Hillary Clinton email. (Oct. 14, Bunkhouse Saloon)

Soul

Jessica Manalo The indie soul artist finds power in upsetting expectations

F

or all the power of her voice, Jessica Manalo is surprisingly frank about feeling vulnerable. “One of the hardest things in my experience is being a female, being little — really little — and being Asian,” she says. “All those things combined affect the way people view you.”

But it’s exactly those misperceptions that motivate her. “I know I have to up the ante because of people’s first impressions of me.

I have to prove them wrong.”

Being proven wrong never sounded so good. Manalo’s strong but supple voice — with just a hint of soulful burr — becomes a medium for songs about breaking hearts, splitting up and moving on. She herself is certainly on the move. She recently quit her job to pursue music full time and wasted no time, finishing her first full-length album, logging a month-long tour and scoring some high-profile Vegas shows. (Sept. 10, Bunkhouse Saloon) Chris Bitonti

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

57

ONES to

Watch

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

58

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

PORTRAITS BY

AARON MAYES

VISUAL ARTS {through 09| 0 8 Strange visions Recent ceramics by KD Matheson, whose work evokes the mythologies of undiscovered cultures. (SD) City Hall Grand Gallery, free, artslasvegas.org

{through 09| 1 0 “Materiality, attitude and wit tie their work together”!

Last chance to see work by five artists who’ve participated in UNLV’s artist-in-residence program: Deborah Aschheim, Erin Cosgrove, Lucky DeBellevue, Ash Ferlito, and David Gilbert. (SD) Barrick Museum at UNLV, free, unlv.edu/barrickmuseum

{through 09| 2 2 Nice future you got there In Science Versus Fiction, a group of stellar local artists — from Linda Alterwitz and and Robert Beckmann to Elizabeth Blau and Vezun — imagine possible futures, particularly in light of climate change. (SD) Reception 5p, September 6, City Hall Chamber Gallery, free, artsvegas.org

{through 09| 2 4 Not kid stuff

ONES to

Brett Levner

Watch

Filmmaker

For her master’s thesis at Columbia film school, Brett Levner wrote and directed a short film about her father. Its title, The Lucky One, referred to his affectionate term for the last cigarette in a pack.

“My father wanted to continue smoking even as he was dying from cancer,” Levner says. “Sometimes you have to let go and let a person live how they want to.”

Twenty years later, she’s still looking difficult subjects right in the eye. While teaching film at a Marin County community college several years ago, she saw a teenager working a street corner in Berkeley. Levner and some students made a short film about sex trafficking called The Track.

When she got a teaching position at UNLV in 2011, she expanded the idea into a full-length feature. It traces the unlikely encounter between Barbie, who’s trapped by a pimp, and Caren, a middle-aged teacher struggling to recover from the loss of her daughter. Caren finds in Barbie a reason to get her life together, but learns there are complications inherent in rescuing a troubled stranger.

The final cut was finished this year. “We pulled in students and former students and people they knew, and they were supportive in a way I hadn’t encountered before in New York or L.A. I really came to love Vegas, and that’s why I wanted to highlight the parts, like Downtown and Boulder City, that people don’t always see.”

Audiences are responding to the inspirational story. The Track won best local

There’s a lot going on in these sculptural pieces by Ali Fathollahi: eye-massaging collage, Surrealist meaning-twists, tinctures of erotica.

Adolescence, this exhibit, is not to be missed. (SD) Sin City Gallery, free, sincitygallery.com

feature at the Las Vegas Film Festival in June, and Levner is waiting to hear from other festivals while seeking distribution.

Meanwhile, she’s at work on her next feature, Super Bully. A teen girl befriends a neighbor who’s ostracized from the superhero community when his fellow vigilantes find out he’s transgender. A complicated story — just the way Levner likes them. Heidi Kyser

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

59

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

{through 09| 2 9 We know it when we see it Artists as diverse as Nanda Sharifpour, Valentin Yordanov, Gig Depio, Maureen Halligan and James Stanford — names plucked randomly from a particularly talented roster of participants — address the nature of beauty, both visually and in their own words. (SD) Reception 5:30p, September 8, Mayor’s Gallery at Fifth Street School, free, appointment only, 702-229-6469

{through 09| 3 0 This Internet — apparently, it’s a thing The exhibit’s title, KUSO Project, refers to a term in Southeast Asia that has to do with camp and parody on the Internet. This show comprises the work of a dozen Taiwanese artists whose work is rooted in the online experience. A unique cultural exchange. (SD) Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery at UNLV, free, unlv.edu

{through 10| 1 4 This exhibit may be the only thoughtful thing to emerge from Election 2016 If you like art that doesn’t shy from political significance, check out He Said, She Said by Chad Scott — it’s a multimedia installation, pegged to the 2016 election, that riffs on the geysers of competing messages and narratives to ask what it means to be informed. (SD) Reception 5:30p, September 2, Winchester Cultural Center, free, 702-455-7340

10/21

Chris Bauder and the kingdom of the artistic skull The potent symbolism of the skull has been diluted by years of pop culture overuse. Can art restore some of its alaspoor-Yorick vitality as a metaphor for mortality and identity? That’s the premise of The Skull Show, a biennial group exhibit put together by artist Chris Bauder. Some 30 artists from around the country will participate.

(SD) Through December 9, The Studio at Sahara West Library, free, 702-507-3630

i sense a theme

The ways we consume nature — whether in the form of its natural resources, as a recreational experience or as idealized beauty — unite these three photography exhibits.

09| 2 2

09| 2 3

10| 2 7

No flotation device required

Super goop

Postcards from the last frontier

Geri Kodey’s Down the Colorado is perfect for lovers of vicarious adventure: photos of the Grand Canyon shot while rafting the Colorado. (SD) Windmill Library, free, 702507-6030

{ 09| 2 3 —2 5 Art is beautiful

{ 09| 01 In Greek mythology, Hyperion was one of the 12 Titan children of Gaia and Uranus

If you’re going to the annual music and culture festival that sprawls across a caged-in Downtown, be sure to check out the art offerings, headlined by Shepard Fairey.

(SD) lifeisbeautiful.com/art

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

Oil’s journey from crude to the energy powering our lives — not to mention the many products derived from petroleum — is one of the backbone processes of modernity. Photographer Edward Burtynsky documents it in Edward Burtynsky: Oil. (SD) Through January 14, Barrick Museum at UNLV, free, unlv.edu

Christopher Tsouras, most recently seen exploring the meaning of drones

60

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

Big place, Alaska. Full of eye-goggling natural beauty. But, really, how likely are you to get up there anytime soon? Good thing Marcella Brendible went. Her photos of the aforementioned natural beauty, exhibited as Experience Nature in a Different Light, should hold you over until you can get the time off. (SD) Summerlin Library, free, 702-507-3860

in a memorable series of creatively framed and presented photographs, is back with Hyperion, more mixed-media photos that mash up classical Greek mytholog y and modern astronomy. Sounds promising. (SD) Through October 11, Enterprise Library, free, 702-507-3760

{ 09| 1 3 We have met the subject of this blurb, and it is us A big hand for the 2016 Focus on Nevada photo showcase, the best entries in the annual photography contest curated by Desert Companion. Good stuff here, if we do say so ourselves. (SD) Through October 30, West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3980

{ 09| 1 5 Pumpkins of art!

If the prospect of creatively carved foam jack-o’-lanterns representing various themes and characters isn’t quite enough to draw you to this show, consider the title of Bryan Yeager’s exhibit: KILLERPUMPKIN.NET. See you there! (SD) Through November 16, Centennial Hills Library, free, 702-507-6100

{

{ 09| 2 7 Art, craft; craft, art

{ 10| 1 3 Almost familiar

Art and craft are often considered separate endeavors, but The Art of Craft: Celebrating 10 Years, by the Las Vegas Crafters Guild, tries to glue-gun them together with a show of paintings, artisan jewelry, fiber arts and crafted-paper pieces. (SD) Through November 15, reception 5p, September 27, West Charleston Library, free, 702-507-3940

What is the architecture of an abstracted no place? With his twisting lines and boldly colored shapes, Valentin Yordanaov paints the urban density of a place that isn’t quite real. Exhibit title: New Frontiers. Exactly. (SD) Enterprise Library, free, 702-507-3760

{ 10| 2 5 Feeling snappish

{ 10| 0 6 59 beauties

Juried work by members of the Nevada Camera Club. (SD) Through December 13, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3400

Q.T. Luong has shot largeformat photos in all 59 of America’s national parks. This selection shows the stunning variety of natural beauty protected by the Park system. (SD) Through November 22, Mayor’s Gallery at Fifth Street School, free, appointment only, 702-229-6469

{ 11| 01 Fresh from the vault The photographers of the Las Vegas News Bureau have been shooting events big and small,

THROUGH

1| 2 9

09| 1 9

Celebrate and remember

important and cheesy, Elvis and non-Elvis, for decades. From the Vault will display images never before seen in public. (SD) Through January 24, West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3980

{ 11| 02 More Oil In this University Forum lecture, photographer Edward Burtynsky talks about his sweeping photo essay, Oil, on view in the Barrick Museum.

(SD) 7:30p, Barrick Museum, free, unlv.edu/barrickmuseum

{ 11| 03 He loves L.A. Jeff Wack parades beautiful, mostly naked women (described

by Sin City Gallery as “goddess/ provocateurs”) through tableaux of surreal images derived from Los Angeles, thus doubling the entendre of the show’s title, City of Angels. (SD) Through December 30, Sin City Gallery, sincitygallery.com

{ 11| 2 2 Beyond the visible spectrum of light Using an infrared camera, artist Sean Russell depicts scenes from both Minnesota and our own Red Rock Canyon in visually compelling new ways. (SD) Through February 12, Spring Valley Library, free, 702-507-3820

Robin Stark’s colorful ceramic vessels focus on the ceremonial and memorial. (SD) Through November 10. Reception 6p, September 23, Clark County Government Center, 702-455-7340

{ 09| 2 0 Tell ’em Eleanor Rigby sent you

Fantastical Vegas Artist Yajie Cheng describes his work as “fantastic realist,” by which he seems to mean fantastical images rendered with realistic verve. He now trains his brushes on Las Vegas. (SD) Through January 29, Whitney Library, free, 702-507-4010

All you need is a love of The Beatles to check out The Hit List, a suite of Fab Four-related paintings by Fernando Reyes. (SD) Through November 20, Spring Valley Library, free, 702-5073820

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

61

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

ONES to

Christopher Jones

Watch

A r t i st

As with Monet and his lilies, so too with artist Christopher Jones and the inspiration in his backyard. “I love the effect the sun love it.” Artists are products of their place, is what he’s saying, and Jones has morphed the brute fact of Vegas sun damage into an aesthetic of deterioration and exposure that you can see in the faded, sagging and crumbling elements of his art.

For his piece in the county Government Center (hurry, it comes down September 8), Jones reemphasized the vitality of place.

To a 14-foot rotating tower he affixed bits of sun-blanched paper flotsam he picked up near his Downtown home. He cut, edited and layered these handbills, posters, pamphlets, handwritten signs and trash into

{ 11| 2 9 Havana in the old days Armand Thomas’ photo exhibit, Havana: In the Times of Fidel, takes viewers back to a time before America began reaching out to Cuba. (SD) Through February 14, reception 5p, December 1, Summerlin Library, free, 702-507-3860

{ 12| 0 8 Here they come to draw, paint, sculpt or collage the rooster Invitational exhibit for which artists interpret the theme “Year of the Rooster,” ref lecting the upcoming Chinese New Year. (SD) Through March 4, Mayor’s Gallery at Fifth Street School, free, appointment only, 702-229-6469

a resonating meta-voice representing his community, a tower of local babble. He’s drawn to scraps of character revelation — the meanings inherent in the way someone scrawled a lost-pet poster, or the font chosen for a flier: What audience did the creator have in mind? What purpose? For Jones, it’s a textured, cumulative expression of the humanity in the place he lives. One

FOOD, FESTIVALS & FAMILY

cultural understanding!

Every part of the Springs Preserve’s Asian Heritage Celebration sounds like a good reason to attend. (SD) 10a­- 4p, Springs Preserve, $5 adults, $3 children, springspreserve.org

{ 09| / 1 0 Supply your own haggis jokes

{ 10| 01 Not the wurst thing that could happen

Something Scottish is a daylong bash — the 16th one so far — celebrating the kilt-wearing, sheep-guts-eating, Sean Connery-delivering culture of Scotland. There will be music, food, kids activities and clan stuff. Cosponsored by Saint Andrews Society of Southern Nevada. (SD) 10a, Whitney Library, free, 702-507-4017

If only there were a word for a fall festival devoted to the overconsumption of Germanic foods and brews, listening to oompah bands and contemplating the propriety of public displays of lederhosen. But what word could capture all that? None we can think of. But we’ll ponder the question during Oktoberfest, presented by the city of Las Vegas and the German-American Social Club of Nevada. (SD) 3-9p, Historic Fifth Street School, free, artslasvegas.org

{ 09| 2 4 Cultural exchange Taiko drums! Lion dance!

Asian food! Enhanced

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

that evolves as Jones continually adds to it — good news, no doubt, for the county workers who have to look at it daily. An artist who thinks like that is one to watch.

“There’s this idea that people used to find these items really personal,” he says. “I try to understand, who are these people?”

Then he converts their castoffs into art and gives it back. Scott Dickensheets

62

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

{ 10| 01 Tippling and noshing for a good cause The annual Grapes & Hops festival combines a widely beloved human activity (drinking fine wines and beers, and enjoying cuisine from excellent restaurants) with a salutary human impulse (to contribute to a good cause, in this case breast cancer awareness). So join in! As long as you’re 21 or older!

(SD) 5-9p, Springs Preserve, $30-$115, springspreserve.org

{ 10| 07 Eat well for a good cause The March of Dimes’ annual Signature Chefs Auction brings together top Las Vegas kitchen wizards, whose delicacies will dazzle attendees into greater generosity at auction time, the better to raise

P h ot o : A a r o n M ay e s , P o s t e r : C h r i s t o p h e r j o n e s

has in this city,” he says. “It ruins things. I

funds to help infants. (SD) 6:30p, Green Valley Ranch Resort, 702-690-0716

{ 10| 1 4 —3 0 After this, we vow never to use “spooktacular” again Bring the kids in costume — but if you’re an adult, leave your mask at home (it’s the rulez) — to the spooktacular fun of the Haunted Harvest. There will be ghost stories, a petting zoo (note to Springs Preserve: a ghost petting zoo would be extra spooktacularific!), carnival stuff, games and more. (SD) 5-9p, ticket prices TBA, Springs Preserve, springspreserve.org

{ 11| 1 9 Elsewhere is here Unity and diversity are the keywords for the 2016 CultureFest: Look for food and performers representing a

11 /0 4 -11 /0 6

Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped to arrange this festival in his honor The Día de los Muertos — Day of the Dead — celebration is a Hispanic tradition going back thousands of years. The idea is to celebrate your deceased loved ones in a mad burst of life-embracing ritual and fun: dancing, arts, theater, skull-decorating and much more.

(SD) 4-6p, ticket prices TBA, Springs Preserve, springspreserve.org

number of cultural traditions.

In an era when the common wisdom is that globalization is homogenizing the world, here’s a chance to see how varied and interesting the rest of the planet is. (SD) Noon-4p, Pioneer Park, free, artslasvegas.org

{ 02| 0 8 —1 1 That darn short film festival!

Still going strong as it hits its 13th year, the Dam Short Film Festival will once again bust out more than 100 short films over four days in the quaint Boulder Theatre in Boulder City. (SD) Details TBA, damshortfilm.org

LITERATURE AND IDEAS { 09| 03 Strut and fret your hour upon the stage!

09 22

beautiful poems for a troubled city

Is that a dagger you see before you? It can be, when you clamber onstage to read a chunk of William Shakespeare’s work during this afternoon presentation of Big Bill’s life and art. Dan Decker, founder of the Shakespeare Institute of Nevada, will talk about the playwright’s life and times. Then the voluntary readings begin! (SD) 3p, Summerlin Library, free, 702-507-3863

Born and raised in Detroit, poet Jamaal May writes about his troubled hometown with a generous heart and clear eye — but, crucially, without ever romanticizing the hardships. Instead, his declarative style reveals a beauty in sharply and simply observed facts. The Black Mountain Institute hosts May as part of its stellar Emerging Writers Series. (AK) 7p, Rogers Literature & Law Building, UNLV, free, blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 09| 1 5 The H stands for heck of a guy

{ 09| 1 1 Neon enlightenment

Anyone in their write mind will want to spend “An Evening With H. Lee Barnes,” the eminent Las Vegas author.

He’ll read from his latest book, The Gambler’s Apprentice, a novel, and discuss writing, drawing on his experiences authoring several other novels, short story collections and books of nonfiction. (SD) 7p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3459

There’s so much to say about neon signs and Las Vegas that it will take Maggie Zakri, collection and archive manager at the Neon Museum, two separate lectures to cover it.

Today’s focuses on the science of neon. Her talk on October 16 will focus on the art. (SD) 1p, Windmill Library, free, 702-507-6036

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

63

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

{ 09| 2 4 —2 5 A long journey that isn’t over An entertaining, multidisciplinary tour through black history, “Urban Noir Project: From Slavery to the White House,” will use theatrical vignettes, music, dance and more to take viewers from the slavery era to the election of Barack Obama, and all the twists between. Says here it’s for mature audiences. (SD) 2p both days, West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3989

{ 09| 2 9 Can’t look away If you’re going to talk about the grotesque allure of violent spectacle and its representations in literature, your first call is to wild-man writer William T. Vollman, whose vast oeuvre explores man’s inhumanity to man. Then you give Kerry Howley a jingle, thanks to her MMA book, Thrown, and while you’re at it, you ring up Jonathan Gottschall for the reasons implied by the title of his book, The Professor in the Cage. These things the Black Mountain Institute has done. (SD) 7p, Si Redd Room in the Thomas & Mack Center, free, blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 10| 01 Parknado!

Mark the 100th birthday of the National Parks system with this presentation by author (and wild lands firefighter) Scott Abella about his new book, Conserving America’s National Parks. What state are they in in the 21st century?

What further preservation measures are needed? Find out here. (SD) 2p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3459

{ 10| 0 6 Boo? Yeah.

It’s called “Haunted Las Vegas” because host Paul Papa will regale listeners with stories of spectral Sin City. (SD) 7p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3459

{ 10| 07 Nom, nom, nom While the title of this reading series — “The Delectable Intellectual” — seems to promise the cannibalistic enjoyment of a tasty brainiac, in reality it delivers something even more nourishing: former Marine turned author David Morris, whose writing has appeared in

0 9/2 7

First Amendment solutions In what has become a thought-provoking and entertaining annual evening of free-speech celebration, Review-Journal columnist and occasional Desert Companion contributor Steve Sebelius will host a panel on censorship pegged to Banned Books Week. Also, Cockroach Theatre actors will do staged reading sof banned and challenged books. (SD) 7p, Clark County Library, free, 702.507.3459

i sense a theme

The Vegas Valley Book Festival used to be a single day-long affair. This year it’s still one date, but, essentially, two festivals — daytime and evening, each with a distinct personality.

10| 1 5

10| 1 5

A day of books!

An evening of books!

This year’s daytime program stars Stacy Schiff, historian and author of The Witches: Salem, 1692, and will be keynoted by Longmire author Craig Johnson. Parents, look for the usual raft of YA offerings. Plenty of popular fiction, too. One highlight for locals is sure to be a panel recounting the Las Vegas Sun’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize.

Sponsored by the City of Las Vegas, the Library District and Nevada Humanities. (SD) 10a-5p, Historic Fifth Street School, free, vegasvalleybookfestival.org

The literature ain’t over until it’s over. This year there will be an evening program of more literary fare, put together by the Black Mountain Institute, Nevada Humanities and the Writer’s Block.

Look for Pulitzer Prize winners Katherine Boo, above (Behind the Beautiful Forevers) and Adam Johnson (Fortune Smiles), along with stellar essayist Geoff Dyer.

(SD) 6-10p, Inspire Theatre, free, vegasvalleybookfestival.org

The New Yorker and other venues, reading fresh pages from a work in progress. Dig in! (SD) Noon, Rogers Literature & Law Building at UNLV, free, blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 10| 0 8 Performance poet Shane Koyczan, a poet, musical performer and video figure — his antibullying video “To This Day” has had more than 13 million views — performs twice today. (SD) 2p, Whitney Library; and 7p, West Charleston Library; free, lvccld.com

{ 10| 0 8 A daughter’s investigation Writer Diane Cameron discusses her book Never Leave Your Dead, an investigation into the murder of her mother by her father, who may have been a traumatized veteran, mentally ill — or something else. (SD) 7p, The Writer’s Block, free, thewritersblock.org

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

{ 10| 1 7 Excuse me while I Buk He may have died 22 years ago, but classic gutter poet Charles Bukowski still might

64

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

have something to teach: His onetime student and friend, poet Lee Mallory, will share what he knows. (SD) 7p, Clark County Library, free, lvccld.org

{ 10| 2 1 For all your psychobiography needs ...

Another “Delectable Intellectual” airing of a writer’s oven-fresh pages, with William Todd Schultz, author of psychobiographies of Truman Capote and Diane Arbus. (SD) Noon, Rogers Literature & Law Building at UNLV, free, blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 10| 2 6 Imagine if he thought he was Adlai Stevenson!

Richard Wiley, once a Black Mountain Institute bigwig, returns to the UNLV campus in his original incarnation — novelist. He’ll read from his latest, a thriller titled Bob Stevenson, about a New York shrink with a patient who believes he’s Robert Louis Stevenson. (SD) 7p, Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV, free, blackmountaininstitute.org

{

10| 2 8

Hey, everyone, it’s Deepak Chopra talking about the future of well-being!

That pretty much sums it up. 7:30p, The Smith Center, $35-$175, thesmithcenter.com

{ 11| 02 Oily, in a good way A talk by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, whose exhibit Oil — which documents the precious liquid’s journey from drilling to refining to distribution with large-scale photographs — is on exhibit at UNLV’s Barrick museum. (SD) 7:30p, Barrick Museum at UNLV, free, unlv.edu/barrickmuseum

{ 11| 03 Words on the streets In “Asphalt Stories,” history expert Mark Hall-Patton — you know him and love him from his cameos on that famous pawn shop show — delves into the more-interesting-than-itsounds stories behind street names in Las Vegas. (SD) 7p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3459

{ 11| 03 The return Poet and translator Mani Rao — author of nine volumes of poetry, receiver of an MFA in creative writing from UNLV — returns to campus for an intimate reading. (SD) 7p, Rogers Literature & Law Building at UNLV, free (RSVP requested), blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 11| 0 5 A real draw The Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival: a full-day, calendar-clearing nerdgasm of comics creators, panels, shop talk and product. Guests include James Robinson (Scarlet Witch), Scott Koblish (Deadpool, X-Men), Amy Chu (Poison Ivy) and many, many more. (SD) 9:30a-4:30p, Clark County Library, free, vegasvalleycomicbookfestival.org

ONES to

Lila Brissette Poet

Eighteen-year-old Lila Brissette will write poems on whatever’s at hand — scraps of paper, notebook pages, an open Google Docs window, receipts.

They’re roving, open-eyed poems about faith, love,

{ 11| 1 0 The other Dustin Hoffman Dustin M. Hoffman, we mean — the writer whose short fiction has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Witness, Indiana Review and more; whose collection One Hundred-Knuckled Fist won the 2015 Prairie Schooner Prize. That’s the Dustin Hoffman who will read as part of the “Emerging Writers Series.” (SD) 7p, Rogers Literature & Law Building at UNLV, free (RSVP requested), blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 11| 1 7 Inside the Paiute reservation Chances are you know little, if anything, about the urban reservation of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. Just a few blocks north of the glowing Fremont Street neighborhood, it’s very nearly as old as Las Vegas itself.

Learn more at this screening of

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

Watch

65

09.2016

and wonder.

“I try to describe these feelings that I just want to hold on to for a second longer,” says the recent Las Vegas Academy graduate. “With poetry, I guess you could say I’m trying to tag experiences with words.”

And yet, as captured in her poetry, those feelings and experiences are touched with subtle irony.

From one of her love poems titled, “on the back of a roberto’s taco shop receipt”: “we look up and face the/ same questions,/ we look down and sight/ the same precarious fall./ we look to our future./ maybe, it’ll turn out the/ same/ as if i had just looked/ a little to the left.” Other poems ambitiously weave together religious imagery, mythological figures and everyday life in Las Vegas.

That ambition is what caught the attention of Clark County Poet Laureate Bruce Isaacson, who awarded Brissette the Poetry Promise Award earlier this year. “She does this thing in many of her longer prose poems of mixing religious and personal feeling, and it all mixes together in an interesting way. At any given reading, you’ll hear a whole range of styles.”

Brissette plans to enroll at UNLV as a science major.

She wants to be a research physicist — specifically, an orbital dynamatrician, a scientist who helps plot the paths of spacecraft and satellites in their journey outward. But whatever her course, she says poetry will remain an integral part of her life. “There’s no way I’m going to stop writing.” One suspects a boundless poetic trajectory. Andrew Kiraly

Fall culture Guide

City Within a City: The Story of the Las Vegas Paiutes, and hear an interview with director Stan Armstrong. (SD) 7p, West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3989

{ 11| 1 9 Hey, everyone, it’s Bob Newhart being funny!

That pretty much sums it up.

(SD) 7:30p, The Smith Center, $29-$99, thesmithcenter.com

{ 11| 2 1 BMI turns 10 It’s been 10 years since the Black Mountain Institute launched. How time flies: So many writers, panel talks, publications. The occasion will be marked by BMI BFF Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, along with heavy hitters Cheryl Strayed, Tom Bissell and hometown literary star Charles Bock, author of Beautiful Children. Calendar marked! (SD) Time and venue TBA, blackmountaininstitute.org

{ 11| 2 2 Native Americans in the Civil War

MUSIC

guru and sexy-dad-next-door, ranchera singer Alejandro Fernandez was perhaps destined for stratospheric breakout success in the Latin pop genre.

But he hasn’t forgotten his roots: The international sensation regularly fires up his Twitter to promote awareness of Mexican culture, music and folklore.

That’s a high note, indeed. (AK) MGM Grand Garden Arena, $106-$2,300, mgmgrand.com

{ 09| 1 4 Great jazz by any other name What the (inhale) Joe Williams UNLV Jazz Scholarship Band (exhale) lacks in having a clever name, they make up for in rock-solid jazz chops. They kick off the UNLV Jazz Concert Series, followed by Jazz Ensemble II (October 12) and the Latin Jazz Ensemble (November 9) — all highlighting UNLV’s top student musical talent. (AK) 7p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3458

{ 09| 1 7 Your new haunt

{ 09| 1 5 Latin spice With his soap-opera good looks and voice that nails the sweet spot between spiritual

The only thing missing from Vegas-based The Unwieldies’ tunes is the staticky crackle of a gramophone needle. Their throwback parlor folk has it all otherwise: grace, pep, smarts, longing, all laced up beautifully with Danielle Bell’s sweet, haunting voice. (AK) 7p, Ansan Sister City Park, 7801 Ducharme Ave., free, artslasvegas.org

Blues academy They say you can’t teach the blues, but Lucky Peterson practically got a Ph.D. in it from a private tutor: It’s said that Chicago blues legend Willie Dixon discovered Lucky as a 5-year-old blues prodigy and took him on as a pupil. Peterson parlayed his native musical chops into the legendary triple threat he is today — a scorching guitarist, stellar organist and soulful blues wailer. (AK) 7p, Cabaret Jazz in The Smith Center, $39-$59, thesmithcenter.com

Largely left out of our conception of the Civil War are the roles played by various Native American tribes on both sides of the conflict. Director Stan Armstrong’s documentary Native Americans of the Civil War aims to enhance that narrative. (SD) 7p, West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3989

09 23 -24

{ 09| 2 0 Strummin’ up a storm The Avett Brothers play their folk and bluegrass like they wear their suspenders — with aching, dew-eyed earnestness. But the Avetts are no stiff tribute band playing musical museum pieces. Their rock-fortified folk is perfect for a night of stomping and clapping at the saloon. Or, er, casino venue bar. (AK) Brooklyn Bowl, $47-$75, brooklynbowl.com

{ 09| 2 2 / 1 6 Up close and personal You’ll hear the love at the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Spotlight concert — that’s because the orchestra members select their favorite pieces to perform in smaller ensembles.

In this first concert of season’s series, Stephen Caplan (oboe), De Ann Letourneau (violin), Jason Bonham (viola) and Andrew Smith (cello) perform Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Opus 7; Beethoven’s String Trio in C Minor, Opus 9, No. 3; and Mozart’s Quartet in F Major, K. 370. (AK) 7:30p, Troesh Studio Theater at The Smith Center, $70, thesmithcenter.com

{ 09| 2 3 -2 5 Downtown sounds, sights and bites Now in its fourth year, Life Is Beautiful lands in Downtown Vegas for three days in September. This year’s music roster splits the difference between safe-bet headliners (Mumford & Sons, Major Lazer), festival-friendly throwbacks (Jane’s Addiction, Third Eye Blind), dance/ dubstep/jam/DJ/ambient artists (Bassnectar, Gramatik, Seven Lions), zippity freeform saxophone sorcery (Yamasi Washington), dreamboaty five o’clock shadow boyfriend-rock (Pete Yorn) … uh, keyboard

{ 12| 07 Milk and monkeys Tom Lutz, editor of the acclaimed Los Angeles Review of Books and adventure traveler, will read from his books And the Monkey Learned Nothing and Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World. (SD) 7p, the Writer’s Block, free, blackmountaininstitute.org

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

66

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

{ 10| 02 Freak out, indeed 11 /12

Three’s a crowdpleaser How to improve upon jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara’s mind-bending virtuosity on the piano?

Pair her with two equally virtuoso jazz players — in this case, Anthony Jackson on contrabass guitar and Simon Phillips on drums. In full Voltron form, The Trio Project launches into aerobic, freeform jazz excursions that embrace complexity without ever losing a sense of play. (AK) 8p, UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall, $20-$55, unlv.pac.edu

i sense a theme

Music brings us news of the world with these globe-spanning acts

10| 01

09| 2 5

11| 0 6

This poet’s got the keys

Jumping for joy

From Russia, with love

Peruvian experimental pianist and poet Carlos Mongrut knows something about containing multitudes. In this hybrid concert/ reading that celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month, Mongrut will cover music and poetry from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Uruguay. (AK) 2p, Rainbow Library, free, 702-507-3711

prom-night hairspray buckle-shoe pop (The Wombats) … guy-with-greathair-and-a-loaded-Mac (Flume, Spag Heddy, Gryffin), er, hooky but groovable British scruffrock (Catfish and the Bottlemen), broken dancefloor Nintendocore (Crystal Castles), and darksider tattooed-neck rap (Die Antwoord, G Eazy).

Indeed, as with that other

You could call Fendika a performance troupe, but that wouldn’t quite capture it. Rather, this group of dancers, singers and instrumentalists manifest the ecstatic art of propulsive, mesmerizing azmari music and jubilant eskista dancing (imagine the joyous, jumping precursor to modern-day popping and locking), Ethiopian art forms with venerable ancient roots. Fendika is one of North Africa’s premier cultural exports, so be sure to catch this don’t-miss show. (AK) 2p, Winchester Cultural Center, $10-$12, 702-455-7340

{ 09| 2 3 Philly stakes According to lore, Da r yll Ha ll a nd John

67

09.2016

{ 10| 02 Sí-ing is believing Sure, mariachi is a rich Hispanic musical tradition — but it’s also a powerful teaching tool. In ¡Viva el Mariachi!, students from the school district’s award-winning Mariachi Music Instructional Program will showcase their talent, creativity and drive, proving that a youthful mariachi resurgence is on the move. (AK) 7p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3458

{ 10| 1 4 A flute of fate

Oates met in 1967 at The Adelphi Ba llroom Bat tle of t he Ba nds — t hey ’d bot h leapt into t he ser v ice elevator to f lee t he riot a nd g unf ire t hat had broken out. Thus t he pa lpable undercurrent of atav istic a nima l fea r you’ve a lways noticed in “ K iss On My List.” (A K ) 7p, MGM Grand Garden Arena, $45 -$1 25, mg mg rand.com

Vegas phenom, the buffet, Life Is Beautiful has something for everyone. (AK) $285-$2,495, Downtown Las Vegas, lifeisbeautiful.com

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

Marina V’s epic, operatic pop sounds like she’s dashed through a life of drama and adventure — and she has. She lived through the demise of the Soviet Union and escaped to build a new life in the U.S. At this intimate concert, she’ll share her story through both her words and her poppy, powerful, heart-on-sleeve songs. (AK) 3:30p, Whitney Library, free, 702-507-4017

Hi. Hungry for a slice of delicious rock ’n’ roll irony layer cake? Dweezil Zappa, son of iconic antiestablishment trickster rock god Frank Zappa, ran afoul of the Zappa family trust, which told him to cease-and-desist performing under the tour banner of “Zappa Plays Zappa” or even “Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa.”

His solution would make papa iconoclast proud. The tour has since been rechristened, “Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@*! He Wants — The Cease and Desist Tour.” Expect songs

by Frank Za ... uh, you-knowwho. (AK) 7p, Brooklyn Bowl, $35-$65, brooklynbowl.com

Fall culture Guide

Jethro Tull was the rock band that Baudelaire never had — those lurking, villainous blues-rock grooves, the lyrics brimming with bogs and angels, allegorical, capital-letter Painters and Poets. And you can totally imagine Baudelaire rockin’ that flute with impish glee. In this concert, Jethro Tull mastermind Ian Anderson performs the legendary band’s greatest hits in what’s sure to be a marathon show with a flounced sleeve or two.

(AK) 7:30p, The Smith Center, $35-$95, thesmithcenter.com

ONES to

{ 10| 2 2 Wolfgang gang

Watch

The Mozart Orchestra of New York is like the Navy SEALs of classical musicians — an elite special ops music team made of NYC’s most accomplished players.

They’re known for handling Wolfgang Amadeus’ works with unparalleled sensitivity, depth and authority. In this Charles Vanda Master Series kickoff, the orchestra will perform Symphony Nos. 39, 40, and 41. (AK) 8p, UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall, $25-$75, pac.unlv.edu

{ 10| 2 9 Golden idol

Darren Weller

Acto r / th e at e r d i r e cto r When Darren “Daz” Weller left his native Australia for Las Vegas in 2010, he gave up more than free health care and the unironic use of “barbie.” He also left behind a career as a successful actor in Sydney’s bustling theater community. It was worth it, Weller says, to join his then-boyfriend, Toby Allen, whose Human Nature show was doing well here.

“I managed to find a way to stay on a visa that would not allow me to work, which was hard for me,” Weller says. “Around that time, we decided to have kids.”

In March 2013, Harvey and Roxane were born. Weller wasn’t exactly a stay-athome dad — the Supreme Court’s reversal of DOMA had made it possible for him and Allen to get married, so Weller got a work visa. In addition to acting in Las Vegas Little Theatre productions, he was resident director of Vegas Nocturne, which had a short run at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. But it wasn’t until last season that he felt he was really back in the game.

“The kids started going to preschool, and I had a few hours in the day to do something for myself,” he says. “I auditioned for The Hound of the Baskervilles at Nevada Conservatory Theatre and got the role of Sherlock Holmes. That kind of opened the door, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m back!’”

A seasoned thespian who long ago swore off working for free, Weller was encouraged by the growth of professional theater locally. A few artistic directors have led a movement to pay actors, increasing performance quality and audience loyalty. This season, Weller says, he’ll even get paid to direct Rebecca Gilman’s Spinning into Butter at Cockroach Theatre. He’s also directing Macbeth for NCT and acting in The Beauty Queen of Leenane for A Public Fit. “I’ve always wanted to play the older brother in that one,” Weller says. “And I’m old enough now.” Heidi Kyser

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

68

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

Rare is the musical artist who can both evolve with the times and remain timeless — an artist like Johnny Mathis.

Celebrating his 60th year in the music industry, he’ll perform his big hits and personal favorites in a concert that’s sure to be a musical history lesson. (AK) 7:30p, Reynolds Hall in The Smith Center, $29-$175, thesmithcenter.com

{ 11| 07 Lucky, charmed In an early holiday treat, those crushingly wholesome ambassadors to Irish musical culture Celtic Thunder will perform a mix of upbeat classics and traditional ballads. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll dance a spritely jig through your joyous, confused tears. (AK) 7:30p, The Smith Center, $24-$79, thesmithcenter.com

{ 11| 1 9 Gaels of celebration Celtic dancing, music and ancient druidic sacrificial rites are the highlights of A Celtic Thanksgiving, an

THEATER & DANCE

annual celebration of Gaelic culture. Okay, there aren’t any sacrificial rites. Just making sure you’re still with us! (AK) 3:30p, Clark County Library, free, 702-507-3458

{ 09| 0 9 -1 0 Take me to your DREAMers

{ 12| 03 Happy Cry-mas It’s practically a modern holiday tradition: getting all happy-weepy-hand-squeezy when Andrea Bocelli launches into that operatic soul-stirrer, “Time to Say Goodbye.” It’s okay! We all do it! (AK) 8p, MGM Grand Garden Arena, $118-3,019, mgmgrand.com

{ 12| 0 8 Honky-tonk man The humorously blasé title of Dwight Yoakam’s 1986 debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. hinted that he didn’t plan on taking the conventions of honky-tonk music too seriously. And in doing that, he built a career that simultaneously breathed some livening rock ’n’ roll fire into country and helped steer it back to its proper roots. Yoakam’s enduring presence in the country genre is a welcome one — most recently manifested in his latest, critical rave-inducing album, Second Hand Heart.

(AK) 8p, The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan, $29-$352, cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

{ 01| 2 4 Keep on Trockin’ Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has been producing its parody of classical ballet for more than 40 years, making it something of a (hilarious) institution itself. This all-male comedy-dance troupe sends up ballet’s more silly, overserious elements — while at the same time celebrating the vigor and discipline the art of dance demands. (AK) 8p, UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall, $25-$75, unlv.edu/pac

04 06

Music is everywhere The Ying Quartet is a classical ensemble, sure, but it might be just as accurate to describe it as a philosophy: the restlessly innovative group is dedicated to weaving music into our everyday lives, performing everywhere from juvenile prisons to elementary schools, and commissioning challenging original compositions that address contemporary issues and headline topics. On tap at this spring concert is beauty and urgency. (AK) 7:30p, UNLV’s Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot Recital Hall, $30, unlv.edu/pac

honed classical chops both old and new, revealing melodic subtleties and sophistications in songs you thought you knew.

(AK) 8p, UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall, $20-$55, unlv.edu/pac

{ 02| 1 6 Three’s (musical) company In this second installment of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Spotlight concert series — in which players perform their favorite pieces penned for smaller ensembles — Cory Tiffin (clarinet), Jason Bonham (viola) and Voltaire Verzosa (piano) perform Schumann’s Märchenbilder, Opus 113; Brahms’ Sonata No. 2 in E-flat Major, Opus 120, No. 2; and Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498. (AK) 7:30p, Troesh Studio Theater at The Smith Center, $70, thesmithcenter.com

{ 03| 2 5 Two pianists enter, one pianist leaves

{ 02| 1 8 Pop goes the classical Puccini? Sure. Gershwin?

Definitely. Adele? Yep! Coldplay?

That too. Taylor Swift? Why not?

The unfussily omnivorous crossover trio Simply Three (violinist Glen McDaniel, cellist Zack Clark and bassist Nicholas Villalobos) apply their well-

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

69

09.2016

In Piano Battle, Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis turn their ivories into weapons, firing Chopin, Debussy and Liszt at each other like so many musical ICBMs, testing, taunting and one-upping each other — with the audience being the ultimate judge of who wins. But Piano Battle is intended to be much more than a ticket-selling shtick.

In addition to highlighting the skills of two blazingly talented pianists, the show aims to bring classical music to a wider audience. Indeed, if you want to unplug the kids from the Pandora playlist and fill their brains with a dose of electrifying virtuoso live music, choose this battle. (AK) 8p, UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall, $20-$55, unlv.edu/pac

Fall culture Guide

In Más Americanos, aliens make contact with the U.S., offering to trade life-saving technologies for 11 million people, and the U.S.-born daughter of undocumented immigrants gets caught in the middle. This bilingual play is written and directed by Arlene Rivera and Eric Franklin, and based on the short story The Space Traders by Derrick Bell.

(HK) Winchester Cultural Center, $15, 702-455-7340

{ 09| 0 9 -2 5 GIANT disappointment A dime store in a small West Texas town is the setting for Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, a play by Ed Graczyk that probes idol-worship’s delusional quality. (HK) Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive, $21-$24, lvlt.org, 702-362-7996

{ 09| 1 3 What’s multidisciplinary chamber opera?

In Both Eyes Open, Max Giteck Duykers and Philip Kan Gotands take on the tough subject of America’s World War II Japanese internment camps through a complex presentation of music, chanting, interactive audio and video, modern dance, physical theater and spoken word. (HK) Winchester Cultural Center, $10-$12, 702-455-7340

{ 09| 1 6 -1 7 Get out your onesy!

As part of its Family and Children’s Performance Series, the Las Vegas Contemporary

Dance Theater does a participatory performance of Pajama Party with select excerpts from Alice Down the Rabbit Hole. (HK) West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3989

{ 10| 0 6 -3 1 Feeeeeed meeee!

Join Seymour, Audrey II and various disposable characters at the Little Shop of Horrors — you know it, you love it. (SD) Times and location TBA, $25-$28, majesticrepertory.com

{ 10| 0 6 Geopolitics and Raisinettes

{ 10| 1 4 —3 0 To kill for Da rren Weller (see Ones to Watch, p.

68) directs Willia m Sha kespea re’s cla ssic t ragedy Macbeth in a contempora r y st yle for t his Nevada Conser vator y Theat re production. (H K ) Black Box Theatre at UNLV, $14. 75 -$16. 50, unlv.edu /nct, 702-895 -2787

Cockroach Theatre opens its fall-winter season with The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz’s Obie Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning satire about a professional wrestler. (HK) Art Square Theatre, 1025 S. First St. #110, $16-$20, cockroachtheatre.com, 702-818-3422

Nevada Ballet Theatre dances Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classic interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, complete with wicked stepmother, Prince Charming and hexbusting kiss. (HK) Reynolds Hall, The Smith Center, $29-$139, nevadaballet.org

{ 10| 2 7- 11| 1 3 Something fishy A Public Fit’s Ann Marie Pereth and Joseph Kucan co-direct Australian award-winning drama When the Rain Stops Falling in a found space that fits the philosophical subject matter: an 8,000-square-foot empty warehouse in the developing East Fremont district. The play delves into the prophecy and aftermath of a fish falling from the sky during a days-long deluge, with a story that spans four generations and two continents. (HK) 100 Fremont St., $25, apublicfit.org

11 /03 -11 /0 6

Making it real The Asylum Theatre, working with The Telling Project and local veterans, produces Telling Las Vegas. The nonprofit, which has staged dozens of plays around the country, gives veterans a platform to share their experiences with non-veterans and reconnect with the community.

(HK) Art Square Theatre, 1025 S. First St. #110, NEED PRICE, asylumtheatre. org, 702-604-3417

{ 10| 2 2 —2 3 Spell-raiser

{ 11| 0 4 -2 0 Cultivating romance

i sense a theme

The classics get a contemporary makeover as performers seek new ways to stage timeless stories

09| 02 —1 0

09| 3 0

Straight outta Avon

Red lines

Hamilton is coming! Hamilton is coming! Next year. Meantime, please enjoy The Bomb-itty of Errors, a rap adaptation of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, presented by Nevada Conservatory Theatre with a live DJ on stage. (HK) Judy Bayley Theater, UNLV, $29.75-$33, unlv.edu/nct, 702-895-2787

Members of theater company A Public Fit perform a staged reading of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer-nominated In the Blood. Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, the play focuses on a group of African-American characters forced into homelessness. (HK) Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, free, apublicfit.org, 702-507-3459

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

70

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

What happens when two farmers and next-door neighbors in Ireland’s Midlands region come to life-changing turning points at the same time?

John Patrick Shanley’s comedy Outside Mullingar answers.

(HK) Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive, $14-$15, lvlt. org, 702-362-7996

{ 11| 1 2 -2 1 I wonder if this can be described as existentialist, like the plays of Beckett?

In one-act opera Postcard from Morocco, a mysterious puppet master is trying to seduce passengers to serve as

his marionettes as they wait for a train and guard their luggage. “Existentialist, like the plays of Beckett,” says one critic. (SD) 2p and 7p, Winchester Cultural Center, $15, sincityopera.com

through it all, the financial rise of one at the expense of the others. This is the formula for Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy Absurd Person Singular, taking the main stage at Las Vegas Little Theatre. (HK) 3920 Schiff Drive, $21-$24, lvlt.org, 702-362-7996

{ 11| 1 8 -1 9 Up all afternoon for good fun Local choreographer and dancer Peter Chu brings his boundary-pushing performance style to fellow Las Vegans through Chuthis, a blend of contemporary, urban and theatrical dance with dramatic light and sound.

(HK) West Las Vegas Library, free, 702-507-3989

{ 11| 1 9 Hella belly If you think there’s only one kind of belly dance, you need to get yourself to the Library District’s Night of Diverse Cultural Belly Dance. Artists from different disciplines will display the regional and stylistic specificity of their midriff craft.

(HK) West Charleston Library, free, 702-507-3964

{ 11| 2 0 From Bharata Natyam to Bollywood Following a discussion of India’s classical and modern dance forms by director Purbasha Banerjee, performers take the stage to give live demonstrations in Rhythm of India, cosponsed by Nritya Academy of Indian Dances.

(HK) Whitney Library, free, 702-507-4014

{ 11| 2 2 -2 7 It’s okay to dream The holidays call for nostalgia, and the stage adaptation of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas delivers. A

{ 12| 1 0 -2 4 Some toy 11 13 -20

Dance, dance collaboration Cirque du Soleil plus Nevada Ballet Theatre equals A Choreographers’ Showcase, the annual show that has become a must-see for lovers of uniquely local cutting-edge dance. (HK) Mystère Theatre, Treasure Island Hotel & Casino, $25/$45, nevadaballet.org

song-and-dance team and ravishing sister act stumble on each other in a Vermont Inn, providing the dusting of romantic magic. (HK) The Smith Center, $29-$139, the smithcenter.com

Rainbow Youth Company has something theatrical. The perfect date, a night most musical, starring a certain cat and elephant: Seussical!

(HK) Charleston Heights Arts Center, $5, artslasvegas.org

{ 11| 2 5 - 12| 1 7 But she’s so adorable!

So murderously adorable!

{ 12| 02 -1 7 #GetSensible Kate Hamill found Off-Broadway success with her contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility. The Nevada Conservatory Theatre presents her version of the Dashwood sisters’ attempt to survive and save face amid misfortune. (HK) Judy Bayley Theater at UNLV, $29.75-$33, unlv.edu/nct, 702-895-2787

Who among us, as a grade schooler, didn’t want to kill an annoying classmate who one-upped us? Hmm, no one?

Well, maybe it’s just little Rhonda Penmark, the bad seed at the center of The Bad Seed. Her mother gets an uneasy feeling when a little boy — who won a penmanship medal adorable Rhonda felt she deserved — is drowned at a picnic. (SD) Times and location TBA, $25$28, majesticrepertory.com

{ 12| 02 -1 8 With friends like these

{ 12| 02 -1 1 Dr. who?

Three couples, three kitchens, three successive Christmas Eves, an assortment of funny mishaps — and,

Looking for a family activity that’s truly magical?

D e se rt C o mpan i o n

71

09.2016

Fall culture Guide

Nevada Ballet Theatre continues its holiday tradition of bringing the famous seedpod smasher to life with James Canfield’s artistic direction and Tchaikovsky’s music. It’s a Nutcracker not found outside Las Vegas. (HK) Reynolds Hall, the Smith Center, $29-$179, nevadaballet.org

{ 12| 1 7 Bell rings and angel wings Poor Richard’s Players present It’s a Wonderful Life — a Live Radio Play, the story from the classic holiday movie, but told in the style of a vintage radio drama, complete with sound and stage effects. (HK) Charleston Heights Arts Center, $10-$15, artslasvegas. org, 702-229-6383

{ 01| 1 9 Some homecoming In Taylor Mac’s Hir, a marine returns from the war to find his mother radicalized and his sibling making a gender transition.

Christopher Brown directs the Cockroach Theatre’s production of this tragicomedy about letting go of tradition. (HK) Art Square Theatre, 1025 S. First St. #110, $16-$20, cockroachtheatre. com, 702-818-3422

ROCK

09 |SEPT |2016 FASHION TOUR LOON | DOUBLE DOWN SA

T-MOBILE ARENA

N • LF|ALTHLE PEARL IO N A P M O C T R E S E D TY BAR | BROOKLYN BOW

N W O T S THI BEAU

OPHISTICATION S N A B R U D N A E L Y ST THIS FALL, STREET OR A SMASH HIT COME TOGETHER F PHOTO Robert GRAPHER: John K ley STYLIS Christie T: Moelle r HAIR A N D MAKE Krystle-UP: Randa ll M ODE L S Pedi a : of TNGnd Shelby Models

72

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

PEDI

Made Worn Rolling Stone T-shirt, $175, Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Plaid cropped slim-fit trouser, $65, TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall

SHELBY Haute Hippie silk paisley gown, $795, Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Haute Hippie suede fringe coat, $1,295, Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Lulu Frost “Laumière” long cabochon pendant, $238, Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Anouk amber suede pointed-toe pump, $595, Jimmy Choo in the Forum Shops at Caesars and the Shops at Crystals in CityCenter

LOCATION: THE PEARL AT THE PALMS Upcoming: RAY LAMONTAGNE, SEPT. 16 ZZ TOP, OCT. 7 IL DIVO, NOV. 18 SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

73

74

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

PEDI Hudson Blinder jeans, $285,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Doors T-shirt, $175,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Distressed denim jacket, $180,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall True Religion plaid shirt, $159,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall SHELBY Fishnet nylons, $12,

TOPSHOP in the Fashion Show Mall “Mom” high-waisted short, $52,

TOPSHOP in the Fashion Show mall Alice + Olivia “Gamma Loving You” embroidered biker jacket, $995,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall LOCATION: DOUBLE DOWN SALOON Upcoming: LORDS OF BEACON HOUSE, SEPT. 16 THE GASHERS, SEPT. 29 KARATE IN THE GARAGE, OCT. 1

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

75

SHELBY Fendi calf leather mules, $2,350,

Fendi in the Shops at Crystals in CityCenter and the Forum Shops at Caesars Fendi calf leather gaiters, $1,750,

Fendi in the Shops at Crystals in CityCenter and the Forum Shops at Caesars Auden brass necklace, $748,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall PEDI John Varvatos slim-fit jacket, $998,

John Varvatos in the Forum Shops at Caesars John Varvatos “Motor City” jeans, $298,

John Varvatos in the Forum Shops at Caesars John Varvatos longsleeve Henley, $298,

John Varvatos in the Forum Shops at Caesars LOCATION: T-MOBILE ARENA Upcoming: DRAKE, SEPT. 11 IHEARTRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL, SEPT. 23-24 ROLLING STONES, OCT. 19

76

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

SEPTEMBER 2016

77

A R E N A C R OW D C O U R T E S Y O F M G M R E S O R T S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

78

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

SHELBY TOPSHOP tank top, $15,

TOPSHOP in the Fashion Show Mall Rag & Bone “La Paz” skinny jeans, $225,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall Veronica Beard “Ashling” rider dickey, $550,

Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall PEDI Slim-fit shirt, $45,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Stretch skinny trouser, $50,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Skinny suspenders, $30,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Paul Smith navy bomber jacket, $750,

Paul Smith in the Shops at Crystals in CityCenter LOCATION: BEAUTY BAR Upcoming: POUR HABIT, SEPT. 18 MC CHRIS, OCT. 1 CHICANO BATMAN, OCT. 20

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

79

PEDI Noose & Monkey red and black check suit jacket, $250,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Noose & Monkey red and black check trouser, $120,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Fingerprint shirt, $55,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Dress scarf, $20,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall Jimmy Choo “Parris” lace-up shoes, $895,

jimmychoo.com SHELBY Navy eagle print bandana, $10,

TOPMAN in the Fashion Show Mall PS by Paul Smith jeans, $325,

Paul Smith in The Shops at Crystals in CityCenter Jimmy Choo “Lucy” heels, $1,495,

Jimmy Choo in the Forum Shops at Caesars BCBG Maxazria “Richie” faux-leather cape, $298,

BCBG MAXAZRIA in the Fashion Show Mall, Forum Shops at Caesars and the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood LOCATION: BROOKLYN BOWL Upcoming: THE AVETT BROTHERS, SEPT. 20 CONOR OBERST, OCT. 3 DISCO BISCUITS, OCT. 27-29

80

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

SEPTEMBER 2016

DESERTCOMPANION.VEGAS

81

Special Thanks to Our Hosts

Throughout the month of July, we celebrated the margarita with ‘Rita Las Vegas and invited Desert Companion readers and margarita connoisseurs to sip their way through some of the best margaritas in Southern Nevada. Including the:

DE PECHE FUBARGARITA MANGO-BEERITA

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS ON

FACEBOOK.COM/DESERTCOMPANION

s p e c i a l a dv e r t i s i n g s e c t i o n

B E YO N D

DESTINATION: SOUTHERN UTAH Whether your desire is to escape the lights of Las Vegas or just immerse yourself in a beautiful, serene environment featuring a variety of relaxing, fun and inspirational autumn events to keep you entertained and create memorable experiences, nearby Southern Utah is a great escape. Âś From the breathtaking backdrop of the Tuacahn Amphitheatre that presents musical production favorites under the stars and the award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival with its world-class theater productions, to two plein air art festivals held in stunning settings, numerous close-by national parks and monuments, some great recreation areas, and both new and historic spots to explore along the way, Southern Utah is definitely worth the short two-hour drive.

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

83

Celebrating Thirteen Years of Art Inspired by Place

Carol Bold, Color of the Wild, acrylic, 2015

ESCALANTE CANYONS

ART

fESTIVAL e v e r e t t r u e s s d ay s

September 16–25, 2016 • Plein Air Painting Competition • Demonstrations & Workshops • Arts & Crafts Fair • Plein Air Sale & Auction • Speaker Series

Escalante, Utah

is located in the heart of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks. www.escalantecanyonsartfestival.org

84

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

zion national park

Celebrating Art at Zion— Centennial Style during the peak colors of fall in

southwestern Utah, and in the midst of the centennial year of the National Park Service, the Zion National Park Foundation hosts the Zion National Park Plein Air Art Invitational, Nov. 7-13.

This year’s “Centennial Edition” celebrates the role art has played in the creation and history of the National Park Service by hosting 24 of the nation’s finest landscape artists for a week of painting and teaching in the park. In commemoration of the NPS’ 100-year milestone, invited artists not only will paint the amazing scenes of Zion onsite, but will bring studio paintings of work they have done in other national parks.

Visitors can watch the artists paint at various locations in the park; attend

one-hour painting demonstrations given by each of the artists during the week; hear evening lectures at the Zion Lodge; and attend a paint-out, auction and art sale held at the end of the week.

More than 150 paintings will go on sale at the Zion Human History Museum on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12 and 13. Event proceeds benefit Zion National Park. If you can visit the park only once this year, this is the ideal time to come. Visit zionpark.org

s p e c i a l a dv e r t i s i n g s e c t i o n

escalante, utah

Escalante Canyons Art Festival Offers Something for All do something out of the

ordinary this fall and escape to the Escalante Canyons Art Festival, Sept.

16-25, for a gathering of people who celebrate stunning landscapes through art. Now in its 13th year, the festival is off the beaten path in Escalante, Utah, along Scenic Byway 12 between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef national parks.

With something for everyone, festival highlights include the plein air painting competition, an arts and crafts fair, a speaker series that features writers, scientists and artists, and exhibits of plein air works, workshops and demonstrations, as well as live music and tasty food, of course.

Find out all about the events of the Escalante Canyons Art Festival by visiting escalantecanyonsartfestival.org and make your plan to join in this year’s fun and celebration. Visit escalantecanyonsartfestival.org

T

he Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival is not just a theatrical presentation – any more than the Taj Mahal is just a house. It’s eight of the liveliest, most professionally-produced plays this side of Broadway.

Drama, comedy, Shakespeare, contemporary theatre and a few genres in between. And it’s conveniently set in the midst of Cedar City’s stunning new Beverley Center for the Arts.

But wait, there’s more: The interactive Greenshow, backstage tours, play seminars, panel discussions with world-class cast members and artists, plus enlightening play orientations. And a nearby renowned national park or two, or three.

No wonder it’s called a festival. It’s also quite accurately referred to as The Greater Escape.

June 27 – October 22 Much Ado about Nothing Henry V The Three Musketeers The Cocoanuts Mary Poppins Julius Caesar Murder for Two The Odd Couple

The Greater Escape.

800-PLAYTIX • bard.org • #utahshakes September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

85

s p e c i a l a dv e r t i s i n g s e c t i o n

offers two GREAT dining options

in Historic Downtown www.stgeorgedowntown.com

Patio Dining "Best Restaurant..."

Painted Pony Restaurant

2 W. St. George Blvd. #22 St. George, Utah 84770 (435) 634.1700 www.Painted-Pony.com

Casual Fine Dining | Contemporary American LUNCH: M-F 11:30 - 4pm DINNER: Daily 4pm

st.george, ut

G EO R G

E‘ S

COR N E R Restaurant & Pub BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER OPEN 7 DAYS/WEEK 7 A.M. - MIDNIGHT

George’s Corner Restaurant

2 W. St. George Blvd. #1 St. George, Utah 84770 (435) 216.7311 GeorgesCornerRestaurant.com “Best New Hot Spot” | Great American Food

86

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

For Right-Off-theVine Freshness, Check Out Downtown St. George’s Farmers Market you can find foods with flavor, nutrition and freshness on Saturday mornings, from May to October, in Ancestor Square at the Downtown Farmers Market. Organic growers and artisans make the trek each week from Southern Utah’s cities, such as Enterprise, Cedar City, Kanab and more, to bring the

absolute freshest collection of produce, herbs, seedlings and other locally produced and crafted items, including cheeses and grass-fed, organically grown beef, lamb and pork.

Nicki Pace-Richards, founder of the Downtown Farmers Market and co-owner of The Painted Pony and George’s Corner restaurants with husband-executive chef Randall Richards, explains that timing is everything when it comes to produce.

“Every day it’s off the vine, it loses nutrients,” she says. “Our market farmers pick their produce right before the market itself, even the morning of. The produce you buy here is literally right off the vine.” Visit farmersmarketdown town.com

s p e c i a l a dv e r t i s i n g s e c t i o n

z i o n n at i o n a l pa r k f o u n d at i o n p r e s e n t s

november 7–13, 2016 cedar city, ut

Fall at the Utah Shakespeare Festival has it’s own magic the utah shakespeare festival contin-

ues to be The Greater Escape through the autumn months with four productions to see and plenty more to do. Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple takes the stage with Festival artistic directors alternating the roles of Felix and Oscar for each performance.

The zany musical with the comedic stylings of The Marx Brothers continues through October in The Cocoanuts. William Shakespeare’s political thriller Julius Caesar performs through October in the Festival’s new 200 seat Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre. Rounding out the fall selections is the murder mystery musical comedy Murder for Two. In addition to the plays, backstage tours, orientations, discussions about the plays, acting, and prop making, and much more complete your escape. Add this to the scenic fall colors on the mountains in southern Utah, and you truly have found The Greater Escape. Plan yours today at bard.org or by calling 800-752-9849.

John Cogan, Waters of Evening (detail), acrylic, 2016

• 24 Invited Landscape Artists • Free Daily Demonstrations • Free Evening Lectures • Public Wet Paint Exhibit & Sale • Proceeds Benefit Zion National Park

zion national park foundation www.zionpark.org 1-800-635-3959 435-772-3264

Doug Braithwaite Arlene Braithwaite Royden Card John Cogan Michelle Condrat Bill Cramer Linda Dellandre Cody DeLong Bruce Gómez George Handrahan Mary Jabens Roland Lee Richard Lindenberg Patricia McGreeney James McGrew Rachel Pettit Hadley Rampton Mike Simpson Steve Stauffer Gregory Stocks R. Gregory Summers Michele Usibelli Jim Wodark Suze Woolf

field institute

September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

87

s p e c i a l a dv e r t i s i n g s e c t i o n

support local growers & artisans!

2 wEST St. George Blvd. st. george, ut

St. George Restaurateurs Serve Up Fine Cuisine ... and Wonderful Memories the painted pony owners,

YOU REALLY LOVE OUR MAGAZINE. NOW YOU CAN LOVE IT VIRTUALLY, TOO. Visit us at desertcompanion.vegas and check out our website. Between editions of our Maggie Award-winning magazine, you’ll get web-exclusive stories, breaking cultural news and fresh perspectives from our writers.

88

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Randall Richards and Nicki Pace-Richards, strive to deliver a combination of high-quality classic dining favorites and culinary innovation. The husband-and-wife team purchased the St. George, Utah, restaurant in 2004, with the goal of creating a fine dining establishment that reflected their love and appreciation for the natural environment and organic foods.

Now a popular, multiple award-winning restaurant, The Painted Pony serves up delicious, contemporary American cuisine made with organic meats and fresh, locally grown ingredients. Some of those ingredients even come from the owners’ 1-acre garden that’s cultivated for the restaurant.

With its seasonally changing menu created by Richards—the executive chef—The Painted Pony offers a variety of great-tasting selections that are made using originality and an ingredients-first philosophy.

In addition to running The Painted Pony, the couple took on another venture with their business partner, John Delaney, a few years back when an opportunity came up to pay tribute to a once iconic St. George landmark, the Big Hand Café. The legendary café opened in the 1930s and was one of the first restaurants in town.

Situated in the center of town on Main Street—and at the only stoplight—the renowned Big Hand Café was a regular gathering spot for locals, as well as a popular stop for tourists traveling through Southern Utah along old Highway 91.

Today, George’s Corner restaurant sits at the very site where Big Hand Café stood for some 30 years before being torn down. Richards and his wife— who is the great-niece of George Pace, the café’s founder and operator—named their new restaurant in honor of him.

After taking over and renovating the building that now occupies the lot, the couple have created a very special tribute to a St. George icon and the site’s first restaurateur.

Its wall filled with photos of Big Hand Café and the fledgling downtown of St. George, George’s Corner not only offers the taste of great food seven days a week between 7 a.m. and midnight, it provides a pretty good taste of history, too.

BMW Motorrad USA

Motorcycles since 1923

MOTORCYCLE RENTAL.

Ready to Plan Your Holiday Party? we can plan and cater any corporate event you desire

Celebrate the season. Reward your team for a banner year.

Share your gratitude and success with your clients and vendors.

We can host you at Divine CafĂŠ and other great locations at the Springs Preserve or many great locations all over Las Vegas.

Follow us for upcoming events & specials 6380 S Valley View Blvd, #316 | Las Vegas, NV 89118 | 702.253.1400 Call 702.454.6269 to schedule your reservation. See store for details.

6675 South Tenaya Way • www.bmwoflasvegas.com

www.divinecafelv.com

5

e k ta your Arts+Entertainment calendar for september

16

23 Oil, by Edward Burtynsky Barrick Museum, UNLV

Some 50 large-scale photos examining the whole lifespan of oil: drilling, production, distribution, the uses it’s put to. (The Canadian artist took some of the photos in North Las Vegas.) Oil — it gets into everything. Through January 14. Free, unlv. edu/barrickmuseum

90

september 2016

Ray LaMontagne Pearl Theatre at the Palms

14 Branford Marsalis Quartet The Smith Center

The jazz horn titan and his band join forces with another jazz master, vocalist Kurt Elling. Swing on, you guys! 7:30p, $29-$125, thesmithcenter.com

DesertCompanion.vegas

His soulful tenor earns him comparisons to Otis Redding, but his delivery gets him likened to Eddie Vedder. If you don’t recognize LaMontagne’s name, there’s still a good chance you’ll recognize some of his songs, which get soundtracked in movies and TV shows all the time. 8p, $65-$92, palms.com

29 9, 10 MÁs Americanos Winchester Community Center

This English-Spanish play proceeds from a singular dramatic setup: Space aliens offer the U.S. abundant clean energy and all-healing medicine ... in exchange for 11 million humans. Amid this, a young DREAMer tries to determine her place in a changing world.

Think maybe there’s a message here? 7p, $15, 702-455-7340

Spectacle of Violence UNLV

Violence as entertainment, entertainment as violence: It’s a deep, rich subject this panel intends to plumb, and the Black Mountain Institute has gathered a great panel: gonzo writer William T. Vollman, (Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means), Jonathan Gottschall (The Professor in the Cage: Why Men Fight and Why We Like to Watch) and Kerry Howley (Thrown, about mixed martial arts).

BAM, BAM, BAM! 7p, Si Redd Room at Thomas & Mack Center, free, blackmountaininstitute.com

09

16

ART

Channel 10

USUS, GLORIA THROUGH SEPT. 9 Artist Christopher A. Jones installed a column in the Rotunda, divided into three independently rotating sections, each festooned with the printed detritus of our lives; torn, reassembled, stenciled and written on by the artist.

The rotation of the sections refers to wheels used in ceremonies in various cultures. Free. Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, clarkcountynv.gov

ANCIENT ROME: THE EMPIRE THAT SHAPED THE WORLD THROUGH SEPT. 11 Visitors will take a hands-on journey through the Roman Imperial period exploring military war machines, significant construction inventions like pottery wheels and grinding mills, large-scale technical innovations like cranes, water pumps and much more. $10. The Las Vegas Natural History Museum, lvnhm.org

World Dancesport Grandslam Series Fridays at 9 p.m., premiering September 16

SPACETIME KINETICS THROUGH SEPT. 30 Local artist Cristian S. Aluas has formed a concept-driven art series featuring six pieces inspired by the relationships people create with each other and the energy each person shares with the universe. Aluas used locally sourced carbon steel and materials from Nevada’s natural surroundings in his sophisticated, thought-provoking three-dimensional works of art.

Free. The Delano, csa1.ca

Mountain Gorilla

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War

Thursdays at 8 p.m., premiering Tuesday, September 20 at 9 p.m.

September 8

NO ORDINARY LIFE THROUGH OCT. 1, TUE–FRI 12–5P; SAT 10A–3P Native Las Vegan Kim Johnson formally studied human anatomy, environmental science and principles of ecology. Utilizing her knowledge of these subjects, she infuses the imagined into reality to create an otherworldly environment through dreamlike spaces and images. Free.

Left of Center Art Gallery, 2207 W. Gowan Road, leftofcenterart.org

Poldark on Masterpiece, Season 2 Sundays at 8 p.m., premiering September 25

FRONTLINE:

The Choice 2016 Tuesday, September 27 at 9 p.m.

VegasPBS.org | 3050 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121 | 702.799.1010 September 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

91

THE GUIDE THEY SAY THROUGH OCT. 14 Chad Scott’s multimedia installation examines the spectacle of the electoral process during a presidential election.

In a political environment filled with mixed messages, Scott raises questions about what it means to be informed, what counts as information and where information may be found. Free. Winchester Gallery, 3130 McLeod Drive, chad-scott.com

ROBIN STARK SEPT. 19–NOV. 10; RECEPTION SEPT. 23, 6P Stark will share a portfolio of recent ceramic work dedicated to ceremonial and memorial sculptural vessels. Free.

Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery, clarkcountynv.gov

TOWN AND COUNTRY: FROM DEGAS TO PICASSO SEPT. 23-FEB. 20 This exhibition of 47 works, ranging from paintings to prints to photographs, examines the United States’ and Europe’s growing urbanization during the 19th and 20th centuries through the eyes of artists such as van Gogh, Monet and Picasso. $14-$16. Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, bellagio.com/bgfa

MUSIC

SUSAN ANTON: ALREADY HOME SEPT. 9–10, 7P Singer-actress Anton and her band sing songs of Marc Cohen, John Mayer, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and many others. $35–$59. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

OPENING NIGHT — CABRERA CONDUCTS MAHLER SEPT. 10, 7:30P Opening night of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s new season features a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G Minor, Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate, K165 and the West Coast premiere of Kevin Beavers’ Bright Sky. $30–$109.

92

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

New York.” $39–$45. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

BOTH EYES OPEN

TONY … THE BEST OF BROADWAY

SEPT. 13, 7P This multidisciplinary chamber opera

by Max Giteck Duykers and Philip Kan Gotanda combines physical theater, interactive audio and video, contemporary music, singing, extended vocal techniques, chanting, spoken word and modern dance to explore the Japanese internment during WWII and its aftermath. $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, jealousgods.com and philipkangotanda.com

ELISA FIORILLO & THE BRUCE HARPER BIG BAND: AS LONG AS WE’RE SWINGIN’!

SEPT. 13, 8P Local musicians comprise this band which performs many of the great songs of the Big Band era. $20-$35.

Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

AN EVENING WITH PAUL ANKA SEPT. 16, 7:30P Legendary singer and songwriter Anka had his first hit in 1957 with “Diana” and has been entertaining audiences ever since. Anka and his band perform all of his hits. $29–$149. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

DAVID PERRICO: POP STRINGS ORCHESTRA FEATURING THE MUSIC OF STING SEPT. 16, 8P Perrico’s orchestra performs the music of Sting along with some original compositions. $20–$40. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

PORTRAITS OF AMERICA WITH GEORGE BUGATTI AND TRIO SEPT. 17, 7P A crooner in the tradition of Tony Bennett, Bugatti takes you on a tour of songs about places throughout America including “Galveston” and “New York,

SEPT. 17, 7P This show will spotlight all 69 Tony award-winners’ favorite numbers going back from the first Tony award-winning song to the present-day winners.

The spectacle is packed full of all-star talented singers and dancers from the “Las Vegas-Way.” $20. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

MIND CONTROL SEPT. 24, 7P What causes a song to suddenly pop into your head? In this musical performance by Celebrity City Chorus, Roxanne is going through life changes and her emotions play tunes to match.

Come peek inside Roxanne’s brain.

You’re sure to walk away with a song in your head, too. $15. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

SERPENTINE FIRE SEPT. 27, 8P Serpentine Fire is an Earth, Wind, & Fire tribute band that will perform that iconic band’s greatest hits. $22–$35. Cabaret jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

AN EVENING WITH MELANCHOLICS SEPT. 28, 7P This local band will serve up a hybrid of funk and alternative rock. They will be playing all-new original material from their new album, More Than You Can Chew. $20–$30. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

PANGEA IN CONCERT SEPT. 29, 7P This world-famous unit comprises three multi-instrumentalists and composers: Mainland China-born Hong Wang; Turkey-born Armenian Robert Chilingirian, who also sings; and Taiwan-born Albert Chang. From their different cultural backgrounds, they have created their own, very listenable form of world

music. $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, pangea.band

IRIS DEMENT SEPT. 30–OCT. 1, 7P Merle Haggard once called DeMent “The best singer I have ever heard.”

She performs country and folk songs from her recent album, The Trackless Woods, as well as earlier material. $39–$59. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

THEATER

THE CURSE OF FRANZALVANIA HOLLOW SEPT. 10, 7P; SEPT. 11, 2P Things have not been right in town for a long time and they are about to go from wrong to awfully wrong if a be-

FAMILY & FESTIVALS

witching mystery is not solved today!

Since not even the local fairy godmother, her junior fairies, the resident raven or the big, befuddled bunny have a clue, it is time to send for some out-of-town talent. Will a heroine save the day? $10. Starbright Theatre at Sun City Summerlin, scscai.com

LAS VEGAS FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL SEPT. 15–18, 8–11P Featuring celebrity chefs from all over the world creating unique entrées, desserts and wine pairings. Includes both a beer festival and a chocolate festival. $50–$100 per day. SLS Casino & Resort, vegasfoodandwine.com

BEAUTIFUL — THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

GREEK FOOD FESTIVAL

SEPT. 20–OCT 2, TUE–SUN 7:30P, SAT & SUN 2P Revisit the true story of the iconic singer-songwriter from her beginning as a songwriting partner with Gerry Goffin through her personal tragedies and ultimate triumph as the creator of Tapestry and other classic albums.

Features many of her greatest songs. $29–$127. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, thesmithcenter.com

SEPT. 16, 3–11P; SEPT. 17, 12–11P; SEPT. 18, 12–10P Celebrate the magic of Greece with live music, folk dancing, cuisine, pastries and a kids’ fun zone. Enter the limited raffle to win a 2017 Mercedes. $6 per day, $10 all three days, children 12 and younger free. St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 5300 S. El Camino Road, lasvegasgreekfestival.com

B O U L D E R C I T Y H O S P I TA L F O U N D AT I O N P R E S E N T S T H E 54 T H A N N U A L

ART in the PARK OCTOBER 1 & 2 – 9:00 AM - 5:00 P M – BOULDER CITY , NEVADA B E N E F I T I N G B O U L D E R C I T Y H O S P I TA L

Hundreds of Fine Art, Fine Craft and Traditional Craft Artists!

For more information maps and directions, please visit: www.artinthepark.org or call: 702-293-0214

FREE ADMISSION!

Featured artist:

Valerie Amon - Booth No. 155

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

93

END NOTE humor

Gotta catch ’em all B y A n d r e w K i r a ly a n d S c o t t D i c k e n s h e e t s

Pokémon Go is all the rage. The new augmented reality game, in which players search their real-world environs in hopes of capturing Pokémon — cartoon monsters with special powers — was released by Niantic in July. What are some of the rare creatures intrepid Pokémon hunters are finding in Las Vegas?

Puckpuff

Zombold

Grubdude

Thrilled that hockey is coming to Las Vegas; probably won’t attend because parking is hard.

Usually found lurking in slot-machine bars, Zombold emits a powerful cloud of secondhand Virginia Slims smoke, incapacitating enemies before stealing all their Deuces Wild credits.

This spiky-haired monster spontaneously conjures mounds of over-flavored food, which he uses to taunt encroaching foodies.

94

Jerzeyboiz

Doormonger

Touristbro

Sings songs of the ancients, then disappears inexplicably.

If your name is on his magical list, you may pass. But, sorry, your name is not on the list.

His desperately enthusiastic shouts of “Vegas, baby!” at Denny’s at 4 a.m. are secretly a primal wail of loneliness and woe.

september 2016

DesertCompanion.vegas

i l lu st r at i o n b r e n t h o l m e s

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

Henderson Discover

Discover Nevada’s most vibrant city!

Recreation Arts and culture Education Shopping and more

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

Henderson Hospital Opening Soon

➺

We are just weeks away from opening the newest acute care hospital in southern Nevada and we could not be more excited.

Henderson Hospital is slated to open its doors to patients at the end of October. We are putting the finishing touches on the inside, installing calming, restful art and amenities that will help you feel relaxed and comfortable. Rest assured the infrastructure, including advanced technology and experienced staff are in place and ready to serve you.

Sam Kaufman Chief Executive Officer Henderson Hospital

Opening Fall 2016

Anchoring healthcare delivery in Henderson As a long-time resident of Henderson, I am thrilled to be leading the team that will change the delivery of healthcare in my hometown. Our new community hospital, which is part of The Valley Health System, is located at 1050 W. Galleria Drive. It serves as the anchor of Union Village, a much-anticipated and touted healthcare complex for residents and visitors. Our 254,000 square foot facility will have 142 beds, all private patient rooms and a range of comprehensive services from emergency care to maternity and surgery.

We have been busy recruiting teams of physicians, nurses, medical technicians and specialists.

One of the groups recruited is Jacobs Medical Associates from Henderson who will provide primary care services. This group has extensive ties to the community, has a very strong practice and is only one block away from the hospital. The chief of staff is Keith Brill, MD, who also serves on the medical executive committee, and he has been key in identifying staff for the hospital.

Our emergency department includes 28 universal examination rooms, two isolation rooms including one dedicated to obstetrics and gynecology, a trauma area, five designated observation rooms, a psychiatric hold area and rapid treatment space. Turnover and short wait times are very important to us and we have been identifying key processes and procedures internally to help and we are working very closely with Henderson Fire to make sure we meet and exceed their needs.

In addition to needed emergency services, our new facility will offer inpatient and outpatient surgical services, including orthopedic, gynecology, urology, spine, general surgery, gastrointestinal, otolaryngology (ENT), as well as diagnostic and interventional cardiology services, such as angioplasty, stenting and pacemaker insertions. We will also provide diagnostic and interventional radiology services.

Patient safety and satisfaction are top priorities As the newest healthcare facility in the region, our hospital will incorporate the advanced technology to ensure patient safety. Silver ion-infused countertops are installed in patient care areas to help reduce bacteria; silver ion thread is used for cubicle curtains; antimicrobial coatings were added to door handles and special indigo lighting is built into the ceilings to help eliminate bacteria.

Designing a “Quiet Hospital” has been key. To eliminate or minimize noise, we incorporated specialty acoustics in patient rooms and nursing stations where group discussions may be held. We also invested in a communication system where doctors could communicate with nurses directly thus eliminating use of an overhead paging system.

We want Henderson Hospital to be different from other hospitals in the community, that’s why our staff is dedicated to providing the highest level of service excellence. Our goal is to exceed your expectations.

As the sixth hospital in The Valley Health System, Henderson Hospital can rely on the experience and knowledge of an integrated health network. Accredited by The Joint Commission, the power of The Valley Health System means greater resources and a network that supports patient and physician needs.

2

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

3

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

DISCOVER HENDERSON Explore Nevada’s most vibrant city

➺

“Nevada’s best kept secret.” That’s how Henderson was recently described to me. Cultural infrastructure? Check.

(Welcome, Henderson Symphony’s new musical director, Brazilian native Alexandra Arrieche!). Accessible higher education—including fast-track schooling for more nurses in the valley? Check. Friendly to young entrepreneurs who dream of making their passion a living? Check. Superlative real estate (I’m thinking of how Cadence and Ascaya elevate contemporary living)? Check. Immersive wild places and recreation opportunities? Check and check!

There is a lot to love about a place also described as a “boomburb.” Urban planning expert Robert Lang of the Brookings Institution coined that term. (And he’s living it, too: Lang relocated to Southern Nevada to found Brookings Mountain West at UNLV, and contributes laser-sharp analysis on economic trends for our post-recession renaissance — which is why we quote him often in Desert Companion and on the air at Nevada Public Radio.) Henderson is one of 53 U.S. “boomburbs” as defined by prolonged population growth in census data in 2000 and 2003, as well as other factors. And it’s in those other factors that Henderson parted company with mere humdrum suburbia — by growing a diverse population and vibrant business environment. More than a decade later, Henderson still claims plenty of acreage for smart, flexible growth. Exhibit A? Union Village, soon to be home to Henderson Hospital.

In the following pages, you’ll find many more reasons to discover, shop, enjoy and perhaps even consider your own future from a Henderson perspective. Meanwhile, the city of Henderson continues to garner plenty of national rankings for quality of life, but I’m going to single out KaBoom!, the nationwide charity dedicated to making play an essential, healthful part of every child’s life. Henderson is recognized for the ninth time (and the only city recognized in Nevada in 2016) for taking “bold steps to create more play opportunities for all kids.”

Now that’s our kind of town: playful, driven and inclusive for kids of all ages. Play on, Henderson — just don’t be surprised that your secret’s gotten out!

Florence ME Rogers Publisher, Desert Companion CEO, Nevada Public Radio

Partner Sponsors

Principal Sponsors

Opening Fall 2016

General Sponsors

4

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

5

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

➺

Scott Muelrath President and Chief Executive Officer Henderson Chamber of Commerce

6

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

We are proud to be a part of this featured section of Desert Companion, highlighting all that makes Henderson a great city. The Henderson Chamber of Commerce has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Nevada Public Radio and we are honored to contribute to this piece. This publication offers us an opportunity to share with readers what the Henderson Chamber of Commerce believes makes Henderson an ideal place to conduct business, raise a family and grow as a community.

As the president and CEO of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, I interact on a daily basis with companies of all sizes and backgrounds. I understand the successes and trials facing business owners in our community.

As our organization continues to grow – we reached the milestone of 1,200 members earlier this year – it’s clear that our business leaders are committed to succeeding while also investing in our community. Our members are more active than ever before, attending networking and professional development events in growing numbers, in turn connecting with one another in order to develop their businesses. We are therefore constantly looking for ways to inform our members, whether it be on legislative issues, future economic development plans or other opportunities that will have a direct impact on how business is done locally.

As we conclude another very successful year, we are looking forward to a few of our most popular annual events. Save the date for our annual State of the Chamber address on Thursday, Sept. 8, at Westin Lake Las Vegas. As an ever-evolving organization, we are changing things up this year; instead of a typical sit-down lunch, it will be a more casual evening networking event that provides accessibility to the chamber board and leadership. Our Henderson Development Association (HDA) has scheduled this year’s “Made In Henderson” manufacturing panel discussion for Thursday, Oct. 20 at Nevada State College, and you won’t want to miss Henderson’s 17th Annual Economic Development & Small Business Awards on Thursday, Nov. 10, at Green Valley Ranch Hotel & Casino. More information for these events can be found at HendersonChamber.com.

Our hope as you read through this special publication is that you will better understand why Henderson has been chosen as one of America’s Best Places to Live, one of the top six Safest Cities in America and is designated a BicycleFriendly Community as well as an Age-Friendly City. It’s a great place to live and a great place to do business.

Thank you, Desert Companion, for putting together a publication that celebrates our wonderful city.

Touro University Nevada leads the way in teaching the health care providers

and educators of tomorrow while caring

for our community.

www.tun.touro.edu 702.777.1750 874 American Pacific Drive, Henderson, NV 89014

Touro University Nevada is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and licensed in Nevada by the Commission on Post-Secondary Education. Touro University Nevada does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or age in its employment, programs, or activities.

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

9

12

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

Destination Henderson Discover Nevada’s most vibrant city

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

13

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

more to explore

Anthem Hills

GET OUTSIDE Explore the city of parks and recreation

➺

Henderson has consistently been ranked among the country’s best cities to live in, receiving high marks for its easy access to entertainment options, strong schools and for reliably providing residents with essential services. The city also scores well for its low crime rate, low average commute times and high median home value.

The City of Parks and Recreation—With an array of upscale housing developments, miles of multi-use trails, robust retail offerings and a fascinating past, Henderson offers both small-town values and big-city amenities.

That’s why Henderson has become a highly sought-after locale in the Vegas Valley for living, working and exploring. Tucked into the southeastern corner of the Las Vegas Valley, between Las Vegas and Boulder City, Henderson is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, patrons of the arts and families looking for “a place to call home.”

The second-largest city in Nevada, Henderson has devoted 1,300 acres to parks and recreation—with 64 neighborhood and community parks, lighted sports fields, 11 aquatic facilities and seven recreational centers. The city has prioritized its outdoor spaces since the 1990s, when Henderson’s population swelled exponentially, and today nearly 70 percent of residents live within a half mile of a park or recreational spot.

Neighborhood parks feature playground

14

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

areas, many of which are covered to shield children from the sun, picnic pavilions, abundant grassy spaces, and interconnected trails that flow throughout the city. Sixteen parks— Acacia, Amador Vista, Capriola, Esselmont, Hayley Hendricks, Henderson Events Plaza, Heritage Park, Maderia Canyon, Mission Hills, Paseo Vista, Reunion Trails Park, Saguaro, Wells Park and Weston Hills Park—have free, seasonal splash pads. Surfaced with recycled rubber for traction and to aid in cooling, these pads delight kids and adults alike with water rainbows, water trees, water cannons and waterfalls. Dog lovers will be happy to know that the splash pad at the Bark Park at Heritage Park is for dogs only.

Boasting a 40,000-square-foot canopy, 2,444 fixed seats and a lawn area that can accommodate over 4,000 people, the Henderson Pavilion (200 S. Green Valley Parkway) is the largest open-air amphitheater in Nevada and the first of its kind in the state. The pavilion stage brings a number of performances, concerts and other world-class entertainment events to residents several times a year.

Residents aged 50 and older appreciate amenities tailored just for them at the Heritage Park Senior Facility (300 S. Racetrack Road), the Downtown Senior Center (27 E. Texas Avenue) and the Senior Softball League, with opportunities to play, learn, socialize and get healthy Henderson’s Senior Softball League, for players 40 and older, is administered by the Henderson Sports Group in conjunction with the City of Henderson. For more information, including schedules and locations,visit hsgsoftball.com.

A Patriotic Past The history of Henderson dates back to 1931 when Hoover Dam was under construction. In addition to Boulder City, men working on the pivotal hydroelectric and reservoir project found a home in what was then called Jericho Heights. A decade later, the Basic Magnesium plant broke ground on 2,800 acres in what was then known as Midway City. Employing 14,000 workers at its peak, BMI provided vital magnesium ingots for the manufacture of World War II munitions and airplane parts.

In 1942, the city was renamed for U.S. Senator Charles Belknap Henderson, and this time the moniker stuck. President John F. Kennedy doubled the city’s size in 1963 by signing the Henderson Land Bill. Foreshadowing the city’s evolution from common campsite to sizzling suburb, Kennedy called Henderson a “city of destiny.”

Rugged Fun and Striking Views The River Mountains Loop Trail (rivermountainstrail.org) is a 35-mile route that cuts a 10-foot-wide swath around the River Mountains, connecting Boulder City, Henderson and the desert in between. Popular with bicyclists, runners and hikers, much of the paved trail goes through an unspoiled desert setting, with opportunities to see bighorn sheep and other wildlife in their natural habitat. A third of the trail passes through Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and an equestrian trail run parallels a 15-mile stretch of the route. Motorized vehicles are prohibited, and only a few spots require crossing roads.

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

where the wild things are

Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve

Fa m i ly r e c r e at i o n

this park is FOR THE BIRDS ❱❱❱ Sitting on 140 acres near Sunset Road and Boulder Highway is the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. With nine ponds as well as marshes and creeks, the preserve hosts thousands of migratory waterfowl and a variety of desert birds. The dirt paths crisscrossing the preserve are

soft and level, but expect to do a lot of walking—so wear sturdy, comfortable shoes. No binoculars? No problem. The visitor center has a few available on loan.

350 E. Galleria Drive cityofhenderson.com

❱❱❱ It’s not often you can see lions outside of a show on the Strip, but at the Lion Habitat Ranch, the great cats roam 6-acres. With glass enclosures and safety barriers, the security of the patrons and animals is a priority—while still allowing visitors an opportunity to interact with the felines, ostriches, emus and a giraffe. A friendly, knowledgeable staff combined with a reasonable admittance fee means this is an outing the whole family will love.

382 Bruner Avenue lionhabitatranch.com

reach higher ❱❱❱ Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned climber, you’ll find something to suit your climbing needs at Origin Climbing and Fitness. With 23,000 square feet of space, there’s plenty of room to spread out while getting trained in rope climbing, bouldering and yoga. Origin’s 5-week Climbing Academy teaches young climbers, ages six and older, foundational skills and techniques.

Courses like Belay Basics and Lead Climbing Basics help adult climbers master ascents and descents.

7585 Commercial Way originclimb.com

h2-oh yeah! ❱❱❱ Chill out at Cowabunga Bay Water Park with one-of-a-kind waterslides, soothing beaches and pools, and a children’s area called Cowabunga Kids Cove. With activities for the whole family, the water park offers a fun-filled way to spend a weekend or staycation. For the adventurous, highlights include Wild Surf, the world’s largest man-made wave and Zuma ZOOMa, which drops riders from 73 feet in the air. Adults looking for relaxation can float their cares away in Boardwalk Bay. 900 W. Galleria Drive, cowabungabayvegas.com

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

15

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

a park with business in mind ❱❱❱ Situated away from the hustle and bustle of busy Stephanie Street, the 100-acre Cornerstone Park has large pavilions, lighted basketball and volleyball courts, and covered picnic areas. A corporate plaza and warming kitchen make it ideal for teambuilding events. The 31-acre lake is not for swimming but makes for a pretty view as you walk or jog.

600 Wigwam Parkway cityofhenderson.com

rollin’ on the river ❱❱❱ Kayak through the beauty of the Black Canyon on the

Colorado River with a guided tour from Blazin’ Paddles. Tours include professionally guided half-day or full-day options, both of which include state-of-the-art paddling equipment. With two departure times offered, the half-day tour takes you four miles roundtrip with a chance to see Bighorn Sheep. Or, spend a whole day on the river and paddle by Hoover Dam while enjoying cliff views and a variety of wildlife up close and personal.

Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden

911 American Pacific Drive, #120 blazinpaddles.com

the sweet life ❱❱❱ Sample the sweet life at

Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden. On the tour of this factory named for the mother of famous chocolatier Forrest Mars Sr., you can watch chocolate being made according to Ethel’s original, unchanged recipe.

Walk off any calories from the tasty treats by strolling through the three-acre botanical garden.

With more than 300 types of cactus, this is a popular holiday spot when it’s transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, festive decorations, Santa visits and carolers.

2 Cactus Garden Drive ethelm.com

16

paint the town red

back to nature

❱❱❱ Pinot’s Palette is a paint-and-sip studio that hosts upscale public and private painting events. At the studio bar, patrons can choose from wine, beer, soda and water.

Perfect for date nights, birthdays, and girls’ nights out, each class can accommodate up to 72 guests. With two artists instructing and plenty of elbow room, every student leaves with a piece they’re proud to hang on the wall.

❱❱❱ If a private paddle on the Colorado River is what you’re angling for, stop by River Dogz. Equipment options include kayaks, paddle boards and hydro bikes, and all levels are welcome. Choose from tours of Lake Mead, Hoover Dam Hot Springs, Willow Beach, Valley of Fire and more.

Strengthen that core and make all your paddling experiences better with SUP Paddle Fit training on Willow Beach.

2260 Village Walk Dr #104 pinotspalette.com/henderson

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

34 Via Vasari, #102, riverdogzlv.com

serious air time ❱❱❱ If you’ve ever dreamed of

being a fighter pilot, you’ll want to book some time at Sky Combat Ace. This is no simulation. In this aerial combat experience, you’ll be flying the plane under the supervision of a highly trained, actual Air Force fighter pilot.

After you land, stop into the hangar for refreshments, game and aviation memorabilia.

1420 Jet Stream Drive, #100 skycombatace.com

A PLACE WHERE SHARING BIKES IS LIKE SHARING SUGAR

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

Both are pretty sweet & free LIVE LIFE AT YOUR OWN SPEED Or as fast as our free WI-FI

YOU CAN’T BUY HAPPINESS

And the 50-acre central park And the free Wi-Fifi in the parks And the 30-acres of trails And the free bike share program And the 2,000 sq. ft. kids’ splash pad And the dog park

But you can live in its neighborhood A 50-ACRE CENTRAL PARK SO YOU’RE A WINDOW SHOPPER?

Without all the New Yorkers

With 30 model homes, we’ve got plenty of windows

WE LOVE STRANGERS They’re just neighbors you haven’t met yet

MODELS OPEN

Come experience everything this new Henderson community has to offer!

Tour one of 30 new model homes and explore the master plan’s amazing amenities. From 30 acres of walking and biking trails, to an exclusive bikeshare program and free Wi-Fi in all 10 neighborhood parks, Cadence is modern living at its finest.

30 NEW MODEL

HOMES

FEATURING FOUR OF AMERICA’S TOP HOME BUILDERS Discover the variety of home options at the interactive Home Finding Center today!

CadenceNV.com • 1170 E. Sunset Rd., Henderson, NV • (702)558-9366 D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

17

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

jump for joy ❱❱❱ An assortment of bounce houses, basketball hoops, slides and video games make Bouncy World an indoor bounce play land for kids. A sitting area for adults includes comfy furniture and television.

Socks are required in this “shoe free” zone, but they’re available for purchase if you forget to bring a pair. Food and drink are available on site.

225 N. Stephanie Street bouncyworldlv.com

hot links ❱❱❱ Golfing high above the Las Vegas Valley is part of the appeal of Anthem Country Club. Designed by Hale Irwin and Keith Foster, this championship golf course includes waterfalls, six lakes, and panoramic mountain views. In addition to the 18-hole course, membership offers access to six tennis courts, a basketball court, sand volleyball court, fitness center, fitness classes, resort-style swimming pool, Mixed Grill, Desert Sky Dining Room, Fountain’s Café, Clubhouse and all events and activities.

1 Club Side Drive anthemcc.com

HEAD FOR THE HILLS FOR TRAILBLAZING ADVENTURE ❱❱❱ McCullough Hills Trail is an 8.5-mile hiking path in the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. The trail features gradual climbs, sweeping views and desert vegetation. Look for creosote bush, white bursage, littleleaf ratany, bunchgrass and the occasional silver cholla and beavertail cactus. To accommodate hikers, bikers and horseback riders, there are places where three paths run parallel, and paths are marked to indicate which trail is for which group. The trail connects Anthem Hills Park (2256 Reunion Drive) and the McCullough Hills Trailhead at the end of E. Mission Drive just south of E. Horizon Ridge Parkway. cityofhenderson.com

a perfect day on the lake ❱❱❱ Spend the day at Lake Las

Vegas. Grab breakfast at Perk n’ Post (20 Via Bel Canto, 150) and then wander through the storybook-like village before heading out on the lake for some paddle boarding. For lunch, enjoy South-of-the-Border cuisine at Sonrisa Grill (30 Via Brianza). Browse the village’s unique boutiques before winding down with a leisurely dinner of Italian fare at family-owned Luna Rossa Ristorante (10 Via Bel Canto).

lakelasvegas.com

18

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

TheDistrictGVR

Districtatgvr

ShopGVR

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

19

Henderson Pavilion

more to explore

CULTURE & HISTORY

A city blooms in the desert

➺

While Spanish explorers had crossed the territory, and small farming communities had settled there, the area that was to become Henderson remained largely undeveloped—until construction began on the Boulder Dam in 1931. Then workers flooded in, needing housing and other services. But the real population boom came a decade later, in the early 1940s, when Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI) opened. The plant produced magnesium for World War II munitions and airplane parts. At its height, BMI employed 14,000 people, and the town was named Henderson after Senator Charles P. Henderson, who’d helped get the plant financed and built. The city was incorporated in 1953 and remained a fairly small factory town until the 1980s, although President John F. Kennedy saw its potential for great-

Paseo Verde Library

20

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

ness when, in 1963, he called Henderson a “city of promise.” However, it wasn’t until the arrival of Green Valley Ranch, the area’s first master-planned community, in the early 1980s that the Henderson became the dynamic city we know today.

The city celebrated its 60th birthday in 2013 and continues to grow. Leisure-time activities abound with shopping malls, movie theater complexes, restaurants and casino-resorts among the available entertainment options. With a flourishing economy, additional luxury master-planned communities, abundant green spaces, a one-of-a-kind bird preserve, the largest outdoor amphitheater in the state, and easy access to several of the country’s national and man-made treasures, Henderson is already one of Southern Nevada’s most popular cities.

The city has continued to develop its culture and community with a vibrant library system. Paseo Verde Library, one of four libraries in the Henderson Library complex, boasts a staffed genealogy room and a coffee shop. They even have their own hashtag—#LibraryLoveHL—with which patrons can tag their photos on social media for the chance to win prizes. Efforts like these, along with high-performing schools, new roads and ongoing public works projects, will ensure that Henderson remains a highly desirable destination for visitors and residents alike.

Henderson Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 30th season September 16 at the Henderson Pavilion. One hundred volunteer musicians come together from all walks of life to express their passion for music and welcome recently appointed musical director, Brazilian-born Alexandra Arrieche, who made her HSO debut in June, leading the score that accompanied the screening of the futuristic 1920’s movie classic Metropolis. The upcoming season opener features Mozart and South American flavors from Ennio Morricone’s score to the movie The Mission and H. Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4 (1887). More information on the entire season at hendersonsymphony.org CLARK COUNTY HERITAGE MUSEUM Travel 100 years back in time on Heritage Street at the Clark County Heritage Museum (1830 S. Boulder Highway). Five fullyfurnished buildings are frozen in time, ready to be explored.

Dating from the early 1900s and to the 1950s, there are houses, a wedding chapel and a printing shop. Follow the Mojave Desert Trail to a genuine ghost town.

Then back inside for a host of other historical exhibits and Vegas trivia.

DOWNTOWN HENDERSON History and entertainment come together in the Water Street District (waterstreetdistrict. com). Unique restaurants, classic casinos and exclusive boutiques comprise the historic heart of Henderson, all within a few walkable blocks. A self-guided walking tour takes visitors through the development of Henderson and reveals fun facts, such as how Water Street was named, the major impact of Basic Magnesium Inc., and how a place that was started as a temporary home for company workers grew into Nevada’s second largest city.

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

Food & Spirits

ON ‘QUE As the story goes, Granny put Lucille to work in her lunch shack as soon as Lucille was tall enough to clear tables, sharing her secret recipes with her granddaughter in the process. Now Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ has locations in California, Arizona and Nevada and is known for its special spice rubs and savory wet ‘mops’ and sauces. The Henderson location combines the fall-off-the-bone goodness of Granny’s original barbeque with the upscale ambiance of the District at Green Valley Ranch.

2245 Village Walk Drive lucillesbbq.com

uniquely henderson After refining his culinary skills as Executive Chef at Bally’s, Todd Clore opened

Todd’s Unique Dining with his wife Terri, offering an innovative menu of contemporary cuisine. You’ll often find Todd waiting tables in this intimate venue, perhaps serving his signature “on fire” grilled skirt steak, which is so spicy it makes your eyes water. Reservations are recommended.

4350 E. Sunset Road, #102 toddsunique.com

Not your grandmother’s apple pie recipe You don’t normally think of apple pie as refreshing, but when it’s Grandma’s Apple Pie Moonshine over ice, it cools better than a dip in the pool. Pick some up at Las Vegas Distillery, the first artisan spirit manufacturer in the state. While you’re there, sample the whiskey, vodka, rum and gin at a tasting or take a tour of the distillery.

7330 Eastgate Rd, Unit 100 lasvegasdistillery.com

Las Vegas Distillery

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

21

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

versions of sushi rolls are popular at this Eastern Avenue staple. Aside from sushi, the eatery offers other interesting Japanese menu items, like Kumamoto Oyster (in the half shell with ponzu and chili radish), Goma-ae Spinach (boiled spinach with sesame sauce) and sesame flan.

11041 S. Eastern Avenue #117

jump-start your day with the locals Roll with it Tucked into a non-descript strip mall, I Love Sushi is lively suburban sushi bar with Asian-inspired décor. Known for its fresh preparations and speedy service, Americanized

Cozy Coo Coo’s Gourmet Coffee Café (19 Pacific Ave) is a locals’ favorite. Breakfast is served all day. Drinks run the gamut from buzzy (the Jumping Jentri, an energy-packed concoction with green tea, gingko and Red Bull) to decadent (a Brownie

Frappe with actual chunks of brownie). The California, made with fresh avocado, turkey, smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, and sprouts, can be served on a French roll or in a wrap and receives high marks from reviewers.

19 Pacific Avenue coocooscafe.com

inspired by wine Inspired by a passionate conversation about wine between three friends, Sunset & Vines naturally features a considerable wine list. The thoughtfully curated collection of wines and spirits is complemented by charming lakeside location and an eclectic menu with selections such as stuffed dates, Grilled Shetland Islands “All

Natural” Scottish Salmon Fillet and Port Poached Pears.

Aston MonteLago Village Resort, 40 Costa Di Lago sunsetvines.com

international flair Serving internationally inspired breakfast and lunches, Kitchen Table is the brainchild of Former Circo and Le Cirque opening chef Antonio Nunez and Javier Chavez of Whist Stove. The eatery boasts an open kitchen and seating for nearly 100 guests. Try the gluten-free sweet bread, served with house-made jam or bacon & egg shooters with house mayo, pickled jalapenos, and crispy bacon.

1716 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, #100 kitchentablelv.com

a brewing trend A first in the Southwest, Henderson’s Artisan Booze District (boozedistrict.com) is a spirited coalition of family-owned spirit manufacturers. Made up of Bad Beat Brewing, CraftHaus Brewery, Vegas Brewing Co., Grape Expectations - Nevada School of Wine-Making, Las Vegas Distillery, and the Chocolate Makery, connoisseurs of craft libations can sample award-winning, locally inspired beer, wine and spirits, tour the facilities or take part in the creation of the beverages themselves.

Former poker player and Henderson resident Nathan

22

Hall sold everything he owned to open Bad Beat Brewing (7380 Eastgate Road, Suite 110), a smoke-free, gaming-free watering hole. Year-round offerings include The Ringer (German Pilsner), Bluffing Isn’t Weisse (German Hefeweizen), Ante up Amber (Amber Ale), Hoppy Times (India Pale Ale), and Gutshot (Dry Irish Stout). Seasonal, barrel-aged and small-batch selections are also available.

A trip to Amsterdam opened up a new world of flavorful beer for David and Wyndee Forrest. But their passion to open a gaming-free craft brewery was put on hold when they discovered Henderson laws didn’t have a license for a non-gaming drinking

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

establishment.

Undeterred, they became licensed lobbyists, pushed a provision for a brewpub through, and launched CraftHaus Brewery (7350 Eastgate Rd #110). In addition to a variety of specialty brews, CraftHaus serves two year-round beers.

Joseph James Brewing Company (Gibson Center, 155 Gibson Rd) is a production-only brewery, specializes in craft beer and gluten-free ales.

Named for co-founder Matt Lisowki’s brother Joseph James Lisowski, who has Asperger’s syndrome, this craft brewery also offers monthly tours. The brewery frequently partners

with area restaurants for beer pairing dinners and attends local events where patrons can sample their selections.

Expanding the urban core of downtown Henderson is Lovelady Brewing (20 S Water St). Taking up residence in a new building on historic Water Street, the brewery is a family-owned and operated establishment, helmed by Richard Lovelady, a veteran brewer, formerly with Gordon Biersch. An evolving lineup of brews keeps things fresh. Try a 9th Island (Pineapple Sour) or the Café Femenino (Porter) or grab 32oz Crowler cans to go.

Southern Nevada’s only state-chartered credit union for medical professionals.

Clark County Credit Union offers non-profit financial services as a cost-free employee benefit program to all medical staff and employees in Clark County. With 65 years of service in the community, we love to take care of those who take care of us. Our memberowners share in our earnings whenever there is a year-end bonus dividend. This year, our dividend was $3 million, bringing our total payout to over $53 million dollars since 2001.* • 6 local branches • Loans and investments • Mobile banking • Take your auto trade-in

“We are proud to be able to support our community’s medical professionals with comprehensive personal financial services.”

Matt Kershaw President/CEO

Visit OPENCCCU.com or call (702) 228-2228 today to open an account.

*CCCU shares excess earnings with member/owners in the form of better rates, more free services, and/or bonus dividends. Bonus dividends are not guaranteed annually.

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

more to explore Regularly included on area ‘best of’ lists, Valley Cheese and Wine is an intimate food boutique offering gourmet cheeses and meats that cut to order to ensure freshness. Owners Bob Howald and Kristin Sande pride themselves on offering a large selection of the finest charcuterie, including assorted Fra’ Mani from California, Salumeria Biellese from New York and Leoncini from Italy—along with artisan cheese, specialty dry goods, hard-to-find wines and wine accessories.

1570 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway valleycheeseandwine.com

The District at Green Valley Ranch

SHOPPIN G

From fanciful boutiques to upscale malls, there’s something for everyone

➺

Known for its eclectic shopping options and diverse dining, The District at Green Valley Ranch (2240 Village Walk Drive) is a favorite retail destination, adjacent to Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa. REI is popular with fans of open-air activities, selling cycling, paddling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and camping gear.

Bring your furry friends to Flea Bag’s Barkery & Bow-tique for a treat from their full bakery for dogs and cats. Let them work off any excess energy in the nearby pet area. Other popular shops include fashion retailers White House | Black Market, LOFT and Francesca’s Collections along with home décor stores like Anthropologie, Williams Sonoma and West Elm. A variety of eateries cater to every palate: Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, King’s Fish House, Elephant Bar, and Due & Proper, serving London pub-style favorites. There are also LYFE Kitchen, The Cheesecake

24

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

Factory, Balboa Pizza Company and Settebello Pizzeria, serving authentic Napoli pizza, prepared the same way since the 1700s. Take your meal to go and head over to The Green, a grassy space that shows free movies during the summer.

Make your daily step count protected from the desert sun at Galleria at Sunset, (1300 W. Sunset Road) the only enclosed indoor shopping mall in Henderson. Located across from Sunset Station, it’s one of the largest malls in the entire state with something for everyone–from Dick’s Sporting Goods to Macy’s, Kohl’s and Dillard’s.

Galleria at Sunset

Part of the collection of unique boutiques on historic Water Street, The Purple Monkey features premium handmade items from local artisans at affordable prices. Owners Linda Martin and Josi Dautel opened the shop to fulfill a two-fold mission: helping shoppers make new artistic discoveries and assisting crafters who couldn’t market their crafts otherwise. The store takes an assortment of creative pieces from local crafters on consignment, offering them a percentage of the profit on any sales.

11 S. Water Steet purplemonkeynv.com In search of curated bargains for the family? Stop into Archer + Jane. The cozy specialty shop offers hand-picked and vintage children’s clothing, toys, accessories, maternity items and styles for women. This little store is a one-stop boutique for modern and classic items for both mom and the kids.

19 S. Water Steet mkt.com/archerandjane Doug Haughaboo, a former UNLV student, realized a dream when he opened Retro City Games.

The store carries vintage games from Atari through modern gaming. In a unique business model, all of the shop’s inventory comes from customers who trade in their video games for store credit.

6100 Mountain Vista Street #120 facebook.com/ retrocitygamesnv

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

Infused with nitrogen, this single origin, cold-brewed comes on tap. It’s described as smooth, fluffy and incredibly caffeinated. The hopped nitro brew, made with hops but is non-alcoholic. Pair your caffeine with a vegan Twinkie made with coconut whipped cream and dark chocolate.

raise the bar Born and Raised Sports Bar and Tavern is all about taking the sports bar experience up a level. This the second BAR location for owner and native Las Vegan Scott Godino Jr., and it retains the full menu and popular happy hour offerings of the original. More importantly, it continues its emphasis on providing an exceptional customer experience.

10050 S. Eastern Avene bornandraisedlv.com

2708 N. Green Valley Parkway mothershipcoffee.com

living the good lyfe

High octane Nitro coffee is the signature beverage at Mothership Coffee.

It comes in two variations.

Healthy fast food? Fast-casual LYFE Kitchen uses locally and sustainably sourced organic ingredients as much as possible to create menu items that live up to its acronym:

SEPT 16 - OCT 9, 2016

OCT 28 - NOV 13, 2016

DEC 2-18, 2016

JAN 27 - FEB 12, 2017

MAR 3-19, 2017

APR 14-30, 2017

MAY 19 - JUN 4, 2017

“Love Your Food Everyday.” A favorite of Oprah’s, the chain provides a full ingredient list, as well as calorie, sodium and nut allergy information.

pub grub like fried chicken, bangers and mash, and whiskey wings.

2255 Village Walk Dr

local legend

140 S. Green Valley Parkway lyfekitchen.com

TRY A SPIRITED ADVENTURE With a speakeasy vibe, Due & Proper features dark wood, high-back leather booths and an oversized, slotted wheel that originally resided at the famed Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel. Each of the one hundred slots on the wheel lists a different drink, so spinning it is an adventure in cocktails.

The 24-hour bar also serves

Located in historic downtown Henderson, Gold Mine Tavern has been serving locals and tourists for over 45 years.

Aside from the cold beer and cocktails, the 80-foot wood bar is big draw, along with the old pictures on the wall that document the bar’s history. In a nod to the employees that keep the city running, Gold Mine hosts an employee happy hour every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

23 S. Water Street thegoldminetavern.com

Present This Ad Fo r

5 OFF a Full-

$

Season Subscriptio n

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

25

The Spa at Green Valley Ranch

r e j u v e n at e

get the Royal treatment at one of these relaxing spas

The Spa at Green Valley Ranch Resort is a spacious facility with wood flooring and natural lighting. Relax with someone special in one of the co-ed waiting lounges.

Separate men’s and women’s waiting areas are also available. The spa has 22 treatment rooms and a state-

of-the-art workout facility with a magnificent outdoor view. The signature Green Valley Green Tea Wrap, begins with a body scrub infused with grape seeds, followed by a wrap containing green tea, seaweed and ginger root to stimulate the metabolism.

2300 Paseo Verde Parkway

greenvalleyranch.sclv.com

Cielo Salon & Spa is a full-service salon and day spa located in the heart of Henderson. Cielo’s vibe is fun, creative and renewing, with services and an ambiance designed to transform how guests look and feel. A professional staff assists and edu-

a HEALTHier COMMUNITY Availability of quality hospitals, proficient doctors and excellent medical care is an integral part of what makes a healthy community.

As part of the Valley Health System, which runs five acute care hospitals in Las Vegas, Henderson Hospital, opening in fall 2016, represents Valley Health Systems’ commitment to provide Henderson residents with more options.

Henderson Hospital will offer area residents a comprehensive list of first-rate medical services, including around-theclock emergency care, childbirth and cardiology services. The hospital will be

26

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

located in Union Village, at U.S. 95 and Galleria Drive.

Another key component of Henderson’s growing medical community is the nearby education. Both Touro University and Roseman University are training the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Roseman University of Health Sciences is a private university. In addition to the main campus in Henderson, there are two other Roseman locations: a campus in Summerlin and one in South Jordan, Utah. The university offers a Doctor of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration

degrees. Roseman’s programs are unique in that students focus on one topic at a time in a block system, instead of taking multiple courses concurrently.

Established specifically to bridge the gap in healthcare education, Touro University Nevada provides students with a variety of degree programs in osteopathic medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies and more. Many of these programs are the first of their kind in the state of Nevada. The College of Osteopathic Medicine is the only osteopathic medical school in Nevada.

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

cates clients on the style and service that best suits their needs at reasonable prices.

1550 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway cielosalonandspa.com

Bertha, of Bertha’s Las Vegas Spa, brings passion and experience to her namesake establishment. With more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry Bertha has learned how stress can strain the body, inside and out. Holding a variety of licenses and certifications, Bertha and her team use health and beauty treatments to pamper and improve the quality of life of her clients.

170 S. Green Valley Parkway. berthaslasvegaspa.com

Had a long and frustrating week? Parisian Day Spa & Permanent Makeup Salon is a full-service day spa that offers an array of treatments to soothe and refresh. From revitalizing facials to relaxing therapeutic massages, each service is designed to relieve stress and restore calm. 760

Ranch, next to the Whole Foods, Barre3 is an attractively appointed space, with a changing room that includes toiletries.

Three fitness disciplines—ballet barre, Pilates, and yoga—combine to build a strong core and long, lean muscles. There is plentiful parking, and the

studio provides towel service and purified water. 120 S. Green

Valley Parkway # 194. barre3.com

Knowing that consistency delivers results, the fitness instructors at EOS Fitness work hard to keep patrons motivated, offering encouragement and tweaking routines as necessary.

Regardless of current fitness level, the staff at EOS create programs to suit every schedule and lifestyle. With on-site childcare and feature films shown on a giant flat-screen television, EOS provides everything needed for fitness success. 35 S. Stephanie Street. eosfitness.com

THE JOINT REPLACEMENT ALTERNATIVE If you’re considering joint replacement for your pain, please talk with us first.

Non-surgical stem cell procedures for arthritis, injuries & spine pain.

Now available in Henderson, NV: Dr. Sidney Kass | 702-534-3757 100 N. Green Valley Parkway #325

Join Regenexx Dr. Sidney Kass in Henderson for a free educational seminar to learn more.

To RSVP by phone, call 702-534-3757 or register online at: regenexx.com/vegas-seminar

Coronado Center Drive. parisian-dayspa.com

Fitness

exercise your rights Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Life Time Athletic works with the busiest schedules and provides an unmatched experience—with a full-service spa, a cafe, renowned group fitness instructors and personal trainers, an indoor cycling studio and cutting-edge fitness equipment. The Green Valley club also features a tennis complex, including 8 indoor courts and 4 outdoor courts. 121 Carnegie Street. lifetimefitness.com

Located in The District Shopping Center at Green Valley

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

27

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

more to explore

Henderson International School

Elise L. Wolff Elementary School (1001 Seven Hills Dr) is a public school, serving preschool to 5th grade students. Based on state reading and math assessments, Elise L. Wolff scores in the top 10% of Nevada elementary schools. 11% of all students are enrolled in the Gifted & Talented (G&T) Program, significantly more than the state’s 4% average. The school boasts a significantly lower rate of student absenteeism than average and a higher-than-average student-to-counselor ratio.

E D UCATION

A quick lesson about Henderson schools

➺

As Nevada’s second-largest city, Henderson has several colleges and universities to provide educational options to the students of every age and specialty residing in a multitude of master-planned neighborhoods.

Henderson International School (1165 Sandy Ridge Ave) is private preparatory school serving preschool through 8th Grade students. The school emphasizes critical-thinking skills and experience hands-on learning through academics, arts, athletics, technology and extracurricular activities in small class sizes. Students are encouraged to take a proactive role in their learning to boost engagement.

Henderson International School hosts Findlay Prep, a boarding program for freshman through senior student athletes. Findlay students come from all over the globe for a challenging education that prepares them for university.

Nevada State College (1125 Nevada State Dr), is a baccalaureate college that was added to the Nevada System

28

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

of Higher Education in 2002. A majority of students are first-generation, non-traditional college students, and the campus recently expanded to accommodate a growth spurt. Earlier this summer, NSC President Bart Patterson received the Jim Rogers – Spirit of Education Award.

Roseman University of Health Sciences (11 Sunset Way) is a private university which confers degrees in nursing, pharmacy, and business.

The College of Southern Nevada also maintains a branch campus in Henderson. California’s National University, Touro University Nevada and Devry University also maintain a campus in Henderson.

Also operating in the city are several for-profit colleges, such as the International Academy of Design & Technology, The Art Institute of Las Vegas, and the Nevada branch of the ITT Technical Institute.

Foothills Montessori School (1401 Amador Ln) was one of the first Montessori schools in the Las Vegas Valley. The school serves preschool through 8th grade students. A Montessori education stresses learning through all five senses. Children attending Montessori schools participate in mixed age groups, forming classroom communities in which the older children share their knowledge and mentor the younger children. After school programs at Foothills include karate, soccer, art, theater and piano and are held on campus.

College of Southern Nevada High School (700 College Dr) is one of the best kept secrets in Nevada education. The dual credit program, serving 11th and 12th graders, is designed to facilitate a smooth transition from high school to college. With small class sizes, flexible scheduling, access to thousands of college courses and nearly a 100 percent graduation rate, it’s regularly ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s top high schools in the country. Each campus is a ‘’Five Star” school as determined by the Nevada Department of Education.

Nevada State College

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

COMMUNITY E V ENTS

race for a cause The annual Rose Regatta Dragon Boat Race and Festival is fun way to raise money for breast cancer support services in Southern Nevada. Dragon boat racing originated in ancient China. Dragon boats are flat-water racing canoes, 40 to 50 feet long, which are decorated with elaborate Chinese designs. In early October, teams engage in a friendly completion by racing the boats on a 250-meter course. All money raised during the Rose Regatta weekend stays in the community. (October 8, 2016 | Lake Las Vegas)

celebrating heritage The Heritage Parade & Festival is an annual event that celebrates Henderson’s vibrant history, recognizing the people, events and places that pioneered the city over the years. The occasion includes a host of family-friendly festivities. Admission is complimentary.

Festivities include a community breakfast, live entertainment, international food booths, dancing and cooking

demonstrations, craft booths and a parade with decorated floats. (April 2017 |Henderson Events Plaza, 200 Water St)

for the foodies The Great American Foodie Fest is one of the largest food centric festivals on the West Coast. The event brings together several of the best specialty food vendors, restaurants & gourmet food trucks from all around the country, many of which have been featured on the Food Network, Cooking Channel and Travel Channel—which is why over 50,000 foodies attend. Attendees can enjoy the VIP Experience Tent, Beer Garden, Tequila Party Tent, Carnival Rides, Live Entertainment, Eating Competitions and more. (October 6-9, 2016 | Sunset Station, 1301 W Sunset Rd)

community expo More than 100 area businesses, community groups exhibit at the Henderson Community Expo, along with the City of Henderson fire and police departments. The event spotlights products and services for health and wellness, fire and crime prevention, and public safety.

There are interactive demonstrations and activities for all ages. (October 15, 2016 | Galleria at Sunset, 1300 W Sunset Rd)

We’re turning 10 years old!

Please join us in a celebration of bringing Las Vegas a decade of the finest artisanal and handcrafted Cheese, Wine and Specialty Food.

You won’t want to miss this party!

Saturday, October 8th from 12-7 We will be sharing tasty treats from our friends in cheese, wine and beer worlds!

Valley Cheese and Wine

Heritage Parade

1570 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway Henderson, Nevada

702-341-8191

www.valleycheeseandwine.com D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

29

S P E C I A L A DV E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

hot rod heaven Valley car aficionados look forward to the Super Run Classic Car Show every year. The event is open to all years, makes and models of classic vehicles including vintage, street and classic cars, as well as hot rods, muscle cars, street rods, competition vehicles and customs.

Car participants will receive an event T-shirt, commemorative dash plaque, event ball cap, vehicle credential, participation in all automotive activities and preferred parking to have their vehicles displayed in the Show & Shine Competition.

(September 22-25, 2016 | Henderson Events Plaza, 200 Water St)

tater tots & brews Move over, Pizza & Beer.

There’s a new festival in town.

Along with live music, taste dozens of craft beers and

enjoy unlimited gourmet tater tot creations, creatively designed by innovative chefs, at the Tater Tots & Beer Festival.

There will be gluten-friendly, vegetarian-friendly, and vegan-friendly options available.

(November 12, 2016 | Henderson Pavilion, 200 S Green Valley Pkwy)

the wheel deal For the internationally inspired Henderson Stroll ‘n Roll, roads are closed to motorized traffic so that the community can take to the streets on bicycles, skates, skateboards or their own two feet. Along the car-free route, attendees can listen to live music, watch performances, participate in hands-on demonstrations, and engage with health and fitness vendors. Admission is free for this event that’s perfect for all ages. (November 12, 2016 | Along Paseo Verde Pkwy)

hot dogs!

Pet lovers will want to mark their calendars for Bark in the Park.

Admission to this annual event is free. Expect four hours of fun for dogs and their owners. Attendees can watch demonstrations, visit vendor booths, participate in cute contests and meet adoptable pets looking for their forever homes.

Pets must be leashed, and handlers must be a minimum of ten years old. Handlers must pick up after pets. (March 2017 | Cornerstone Park, 600 Wigwam Pkwy)

art matters Every year, the region’s best artisans come together at the Art Festival of Henderson. The events showcases exemplary art and encompasses hours of live entertainment, a chalk artwork competition and a children›s interactive arts district, the Imagination Station. Guests browse through

artist boutiques that will include paintings, pottery, jewelry, photography and much more on display and available for purchase. Parking and admission are both complimentary. (May 2017 | Henderson Events Plaza & Henderson Convention Center, 200 Water St)

zombies on the loose Halloween comes early with the Zombie Run 5K. Be prepared to run for your life when things go bump in the night.

The living dead and everything ghoulish invades Henderson for another fright. Try and survive the apocalypse by using your brains (pun intended) and disguises to outsmart hungry zombies along the 3.1-mile trail. All fitness levels are welcome. Ages 5 and up. (October 22, 2016 | Cornerstone Park, 1600 Wigwam Pkwy)

Acacia Park

30

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

When a community comes together, Anything is possible.

Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada is proud to be a part of the thriving Henderson community. As our city has grown, Comprehensive has become Nevada’s leader in cancer treatment and clinical research. We have watched our community’s businesses and families prosper, and we look forward to supporting Henderson’s continued growth. We will also remain committed to partnering with local businesses and organizations to meet the challenges that every growing community faces. Henderson has a rich history and we look forward to being part of an even brighter future.

cccnevada.com • 702.952.3350

32

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

D I S C O V E R h e n derso n

33